


Untold 2 - Guardian Chronicles

by TheShatteredRose



Category: Etrian Odyssey Series, 新・世界樹の迷宮2 ファフニールの騎士 | Etrian Odyssey Untold 2: The Fafnir Knight
Genre: Drabbles, M/M, connected oneshots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2018-08-27 02:46:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 61,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8384227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShatteredRose/pseuds/TheShatteredRose
Summary: A series of interconnected drabbles/oneshots involving the Untold2 characters (mostly Flavio as I’m incredibly bias) interacting with characters from my "Cease the Suffering" series.





	1. Start of a New Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> -sigh- I honestly couldn’t help myself. I may try for NaNoWriMo next year with an actual novel. Besides, I have some better-late-than-never appointments with medical specialists in November, so didn’t want to half-arse it, as it were. 
> 
> There will be a few things that are slightly different in this ‘universe’, as I call it. Untold2 is very different to Heroes of Lagaard, especially labyrinth wise. There are also two new classes to play with so expect a few new faces in the many familiar ones.
> 
> That’s enough from me, hope you enjoy reading. And feel free to send in suggestions!

After ensuring that he had everything he needed for a day at the restaurant and maybe an impromptu jaunt into the labyrinth for ingredients, Flavio closed the door to his rented room at Flaus Inn and headed for the staircase that led to the foyer. He was no doubt he was the first one up, as per usual. The others won’t take much longer, though, so he left them to complete their daily morning rituals in peace.

He’d just wait in the sitting room off the side of the inn’s foyer and hope that Bertrand didn’t needed to be coaxed (kicked) out of bed like some mornings. The fire place looked absolutely tantalising on such a frosty morning.

As Flavio reached the bottom step, a person who appeared slightly younger than him with orange hair pulled back into a small ponytail, vivid violet eyes, and a white medical coat stepped out of the clinic's office. In his arms were a pile of books and documents that he seemed to be having trouble carrying.

Without a second thought, Flavio made a beeline for the medic. "Oh, let me help you with those," he said as he reached him.

The medic seemed surprised for a moment, looking over toward him with wide eyes. He, however, smiled warmly and allowed Flavio to remove the heavy objects in his arms.

"Thank you," he said in earnest as he rubbed his upper arm absentmindedly with his right hand. "I'm afraid my scrawny arms are more useful for healing than manual labour."

"I think you did well to get as far as you did," Flavio said as he readjusted his hold on the books and binders in his arms. "This is pretty heavy."

The medic chuckled softly before indicating with his hand for Flavio to follow him into another room, a storage room by appearance. He then indicated to a cabinet that was next to a book shelf that was filled with folders with abbreviated lettering on the sides. “If you could place them there for me, that would be greatly appreciated.”

With a nod of his head, Flavio carried the folders and placed them where he was instructed to, inwardly grateful to release his hold on them. They were a lot heavier than they looked.

With his helpful deed of the day done, Flavio turned to the medic and found himself studying him for a moment. He was a head shorter than him, perhaps Arianna’s height, but quite skinny. If Bertrand happened to see him Flavio was sure that the old man wouldn't be able to stop himself from making a comment about finding someone scrawnier than Flavio for a change.

“Thanks again for that,” the medic said as he turned to give him his full attention and tilted his head slightly to the side. “I don’t believe we’ve met, which is odd since I know about half of the explorers in town.”

The medic appeared friendly enough, so Flavio saw no harm in introducing himself. “Oh, my name is Flavio.”

Instead of immediately introducing himself in return, the medic's eyes widen a fraction and a surprisingly bright smile appeared on his lips. "Oh, you're Flavio?" he said. "Hanna has mentioned you to me several times now."

Flavio felt his cheeks heat up with an embarrassed flush, inwardly wondering (panicking) about what the inn-keeper had been saying about him. And to who.

However, instead of jokingly commenting that whatever Hanna had told him where lies and slander, Flavio paused as he looked at the violet-eyed medic and something immediately occurred to him. Hanna had mentioned a medic to him several times, too, saying how she would love it if the two of them met as she was certain they would get along like a house on fire.

Something about caretakers finding security and relaxation in one another. Whatever that meant.

"You wouldn't be Lynus, would you?" Flavio asked.

The medic laughed lightly. "That's right," he said. "No doubt she's prattled about me, too?"

“She has!” Flavio replied with a smile. “She keeps mentioning that you’re like your guild’s mother.”

Lynus huffed slightly and brushed a strand of his orange hair from his eyes. “She would tell you that, wouldn’t she? She also said that we’re both too skinny for our own good and need to be fattened up. Pronto.”

Flavio laughed to cover up a wince and scratched the back of his neck. “Yep, she tells me that often, too…” he dropped his arm back to his side. “So, you’re part of a guild?”

“Yes, that’s right. My guild called the Guardians,” Lynus explained with a fond smile. “We explore the labyrinth, but we deal mostly with search and rescue, though.”

The Guardians? Yeah, Flavio had heard of them, mostly from Cass, but definitely from Hanna, Quinoa, and Abigale as well. From what he could deduce, they were a highly skilled and trusted guild who was able to find those that were ‘lost’, be them people or objects. They also worked mainly with the hospital, ensuring that there were enough ingredients for medical potions and tonics.

A lot of people who worked closely with the labyrinth held great praise for them. There was one member that was often mentioned, though, praised for saving hundreds of lives!

“You wouldn’t be the Miracle Medic I’ve been hearing about, are you?” Flavio asked.

Immediately, Lynus’ eyes widen and a deep red blush appeared on his cheeks. His hand flew up toward his face and he idly rubbed at his cheeks with the palm of his hand. “I can’t believe they actually call me that…” he murmured under his breath, looking adorably embarrassed. _“Complete_ exaggeration.”

“We’ve all got nicknames that are embarrassing,” Flavio said in a pacifying manner as he tried not to think about his own.

The blush on Lynus’ cheeks lessened slightly and his hand dropped from his face to rest by his side. “I take it you have some, too?”

“Nope! Not telling.”

Lynus laughed in a completely friendly manner and Flavio found himself remarkably relaxing. There was just something completely benign and nonthreatening about the orange-haired medic.

“I’m sure I’ll find them out eventually,” Lynus replied in a slightly teasing tone. “Hanna loves a good gossip. As soon as she finds out, I will know.”

Flavio folded his arms loosely over his chest as he leaned his hip against the counter, a smile playing on his lips. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about blackmail.”

Lynus nodded his head as he folded his hands together in front of them, appearing slightly fidgety, not from nervousness, but for wanting to do something to keep his hands busy which seemed to be completely out of habit. “Hanna can’t keep a secret to save her life. Her daughter, however…”

Flavio tilted his head to the side. “Quinoa?”

“Only when she’s under the influence of her dubbed ‘older sister’,” Lynus pointed out with a knowing smile. “If you see a pink-haired troubadour wandering around; run in the opposite direction.”

“Oh, I’m pretty good at running away.”

“However, running won’t do any good if you suddenly find yourself followed by a grumpily adorable brown-haired gunner.”

Flavio felt his grin widen. “Why’s that?”

“We call the pair The Pinkettes,” Lynus explained, his expression still gentle with fondness, yet there was a sense of amusement in his eyes. “And the older pinkette, Binah, is the town’s ‘matchmaker’. And if you travel into the labyrinth, she sends poor ol’ Macerio into the labyrinth to do her work for her there.”

“Yikes,” Flavio responded with a playful expression of fear on his face. “So I won’t be safe even in the labyrinth?”

Chuckling, Lynus shook his head. “Afraid not. Although, Macerio makes it really obvious and resists all his own efforts, so you can still flee, I guess.”

“But you can only run so far?”

“Exactly!”

“I guess I’ll just have to hide in Ginnungagap for a while…” Flavio trailed off as he winced slightly. Honestly, he didn’t want to visit those ruins ever again if he had the choice.

Lynus’ expression lit up in surprise. “Oh, you’ve been to the ruins outside the city?”

“Well, yes…”

As if sensing his hesitancy, Lynus’ looked at him with a comforting expression. “I’ve never been there, but I’ve been wondering about the types of materials that can be gathered there.”

That immediately caught Flavio’s attention. He had had a few explorers wanting (and sometimes demanding) to know if there were any treasures found inside the Ginnungagap  ruins, but none had asked him about materials before.

“You mean for medicine?” Flavio asked.

“Yes,” Lynus said with a nod of his head before launching into an explanation. “I don’t normally work at the clinic, I mean I do when no one else is available, but I spend most of my time off, as it were, working at the hospital’s research facilities. There my guild and I work together with Dr Stiles, the head doctor, to ease the burden on the hospital and ensure the safety of adventurers and explorers in the labyrinth.”

Flavio was stunned into silence for a moment. “…Really? That sounds incredible!”

A light blush reappeared on Lynus’ cheeks, but he seemed to hold a sense of pride toward his work. And toward his guild.

That was honestly something Flavio would have loved to be a part of. If only…

“Well, there’s nothing within the Ginnungagap that can be gathered,” Flavio explained as he turned his attention to what monster materials that could be found rather than the despairing events of what had occurred within those ruins. “But the monsters there are some that aren’t found within the Yggdrasil Labyrinth.”

Lynus nodded his head idly before tapping his chin in thought. “Monsters, hm? Sounds like something Tobyn would be interested in…”

Flavio quirked his head to the side in question. “A guildmate?”

“Oh, yes, he’s a survivalist like you,” Lynus answered with a bright smile. “He appears unapproachable at first and doesn’t like to talk to those he doesn’t know well, but I’m sure you two would get on extremely well once you start talking to him about the monster and item codex.”

“Flavio!”

Flavio jumped slightly at the sound of his name being called in an almost frustrated but concerned manner, and quickly remembered that he was supposed to be meeting up with Fafnir and his guild before heading to the restaurant. He totally got lost in conversation!

“Oops, sorry, I better go,” Flavio said in an apologetic manner as he scurried to the door. “Fafnir might throw a fit if he can’t find me.”

“Yes, sorry for keeping you,” Lynus immediately replied, he, too, looking apologetic before smiling in an understanding manner. “And I know how you feel. I have a protective partner, too.” 

…Partner?

“Hope we can speak again,” Lynus continued. “I also hope that you’ll meet the rest of my guild. I’m sure you’ll get along well.”

“Hm. I look forward to meeting them!”


	2. Quite the Introduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Fafnir makes a new friend~
> 
> AN: Is there really any other way to introduce Axel~? Enjoy!

Fafnir had walked to the weapon shop on his own numerous times before without incident. But as he stepped from the curb to cross the main road that led to the entrance of the labyrinth, he felt a familiar but unsettling sense of anticipation. It was a feeling he was more accustomed experiencing inside the labyrinth. Not in the middle of town.

He made it midway across the road when he heard a startled cry, that of a human. What immediately followed was the sound of a horse neighing. And yet…it didn’t sound right.

As a chill raced up his spine, Fafnir snapped his attention to the location of the labyrinth and saw people, locals, running in all directions. Startled yells and cries were plainly heard. At first, Fafnir was confused as to why the locals of High Lagaard were panicking, thinking that perhaps a horse had gotten loose from its cart and was causing trouble. But then, he saw why.

Though the animal cry was that of a horse, the purple fur and golden antlers were unmistakable. It was a ragelope. No, there were two of them!

Fafnir felt himself tense as he reached for a weapon that wasn’t there. He hadn’t anticipated getting into a battle during a routine errand. He hadn’t expected to face a monster in the middle of town. He wasn’t prepared in any shape or form.

Damn. What should he do? He didn’t have his weapon with him, but he couldn’t turn his back to the chaos and run. He might not be able to actually fight off the pair of ragelopes, but he could at least ensure that others could get away without injury. And, hopefully, he would be able to distract the two FOEs long enough for someone who was better equipped than him to take them on.

In a city that relied mostly on explorers, surely there was someone in town strong enough to take out the two ragelopes.

While everyone else rightly ran away, trying to put distance between them and the seemingly gleefully prancing ragelopes, Fafnir sprung forward. He focused in on the ragelope that was the closest, and the one that seemed to be staring menacing at a child that was lying on the pavement, having fallen and scraped his knee. He was crying hysterically, calling out for his mother.

Picking up the child would only pull him into further danger, so instead Fafnir darted in front of the ragelope, lingering long enough to grab its immediately attention. The deer reared back onto its hind legs before turning toward Fafnir, ignoring the child, who of which was abruptly picked up by picked up by a man in silver armour and carried away.

The ragelope suddenly whinnied loudly into the sky, as if calling for its companion.

No, it was. The other ragelope neighed in return before abruptly bounding over in their direction. It paused by the other deer’s side, it too looking menacingly at Fafnir.

Keeping his eyes on the two FOEs, Fafnir backed into an open area. His desperate little stunt seemed to have worked. The ragelopes’ attention was focused entirely in on him now. Good. But what now? Fight them barehanded? Wait for the patrol guards? Keep eluding them in hopes that they’ll return to the labyrinth…?

Transform…?

His Fafnir Knight Transformation would end things quickly, but should he? What would everyone think about a man dramatically turning into a strange dark knight? Did it matter in the long run?

He had better think of something. Quick smart. They were both slowly approaching him, not making a sound other than their hooves clipping against the stone paved roads, their heads down and waiting for the best opportunity to charge.

As Fafnir looked for a possible exit, trying to keep one eye on the ragelopes, the other at their surroundings, something abruptly appeared a mere few feet in front of him. A red and blue blur. He heard a mild grunt, like that of exertion before the unmistakable sound of something sharp and strong cutting through the air.

The ragelope to the right of him had its head at an odd angle and had all but stopped moving. Turning his full attention to the FOE, Fafnir saw the reason why. There was an axe embedded deeply into its head, almost taking its head off completely.

His eyes trailing up along the handle of the axe, Fafnir watched as a man dressed in casual blue clothing, no armour in sight, fluently removed the axe from the obviously incapacitated ragelope. The man, who had to be a landsknecht, a highly skilled one if his ease wielding such a cumbersome weapon was indication, was tall and muscular, but not overly so. He had tanned skin, similar to that of Fafnir’s, his hair was red, slightly messy but kept all the same.

Lifting the axe with one hand, the muscles in his arms evident, Fafnir could tell that the redhead was not using his full power. From what Fafnir could deduce, the landsknecht could easily have taken the ragelope’s head off with one clean swing. Perhaps he chose not to in town in fear of traumatising the locals further.

Turning his attention to the other FOE, the man’s foot slid across the stone paved ground smoothly, effortlessly reforming his stance to take out the other FOE. He was almost…graceful in a way. The double-edged war axe caught the sunlight for a fraction of a moment, causing the blade to shine as it cut through the air before being embedded into the neck of the second ragelope, in a seemingly weak area just behind the antlers.

All it took was another single smooth motion and the second ragelope was cut down, partially decapitated like the first. It crashed to the ground, legs flailing and twitching as blood gushed from the massive wound in its neck.

Dead. They were both dead.

Pushing himself to his feet, Fafnir was surprisingly speechless. The power this landsknecht held must be incredible.

Dropping the head of his axe to the ground and casually leaning against the handle, the landsknecht took one last glance at the two FOEs before turning to look over at Fafnir.

“Hey,” he said in a surprisingly friendly manner as he looked over toward him through one eye, the other closed for whatever reason, and granted him a half smile. “Thanks for distracting them for me.”

“Sure,” Fafnir said quickly in return, subtly surprised. He was about to respond in kind, showing his gratitude for the timing of the redhead’s appearance, but was cut short when the axe-wielding landsknecht abruptly turned his attention to their surroundings, a slight frown on his lips.

“Do you know where these bastards came from?” he unexpectedly asked.

“No,” Fafnir replied simply before pointing toward the edge of town. “A yell, near the labyrinth’s entrance was all I heard before they pranced into town.”

“I see,” the redhead murmured as he rested his foot casually upon the blade of his axe, completely comfortable around the weapon. “Maybe a guild pissed them off and they chased them into town. Need to look into it.”

Fafnir felt a frown tug on his lips. “This happened before?”

“Only a couple of times, a while ago at that,” the landsknecht replied before lightly kicking at his axe, jutting it into the air and effortlessly swinging it around to be holstered upon his shoulder in a highly casually manner.

He then sent Fafnir a slight grin and offered his hand. “Anyway, the name’s Axel.”

Fafnir felt no hesitation in shaking the man’s hand, finding himself oddly comfortable around him despite his nimbleness around an axe and obvious overwhelming strength. “Fafnir.”

“Fafnir, huh?” Axel repeated, his grin gaining an edge of amusement as he dropped his hold on Fafnir’s hand. “I think I’ve heard of you.”

Fafnir blinked before quickly realising that the name Axel had been mentioned to him a couple of times before as well, along with the guild known as Guardians. Something about the two of them getting along because they were both ludicrously protective of their guildmates. One said guildmate in particular.

And one particular barman was adamant that they should never met let alone become friends. Something along the lines of the causalities after a bar fight would only increase.

“Cass?”

Axel’s smile widened a fraction. “Ridiculously deadpan swordsman.”

The corner of Fafnir’s mouth twitched into a smirk. “Ridiculously overpowered landsknecht.”

Axel released a short chuckle as he idly bounced his weapon on his shoulder. “That’s one of the things he likes to call me.”

Fafnir was beginning to understand why Cass liked this Guardian Guild so much. Axel was outrageously casual despite having just near-decapitated two ragelopes.

“Fafnir!”

The sound of Flavio calling his name in a subtly panicked manner pulled Fafnir from his thoughts and he immediately turned around. “Hm?” he murmured before a mere split second later Flavio was upon him.

“There you are!” he said in a slightly breathless manner and grabbed Fafnir by the shoulders, immediately checking him over for injuries. “Are you ok? I heard that ragelopes had made their way into town and someone else said that you were there, and cornered, or something. And I knew you didn’t have your sword and-”

“I’m fine,” Fafnir said as he cut him off mid concerned ramble by placing a hand against his side and steering him to look at their surroundings, and at the two now beginning to decompose ragelopes. “See? They’re dead.”

As Flavio skittishly turned his attention to the corpses, an expression of surprise appeared on his face. “Oh,” he murmured and seemed to struggle to find words to speak. “Ah…”

He was interrupted slightly when Axel chuckled in a sincere manner, not at all mocking or annoyed. “So, your partner’s a fusser, too, huh?” he said, his question clearly directed toward Fafnir.

While Flavio flushed lightly from both embarrassment and indignation, Fafnir nodded his head in agreement as he turned his attention back to the redheaded landsknecht. “To everyone but himself.”

From the corner of his eye he saw Flavio tilt his head in confusion. “Wait, what?”

Axel chuckled in a knowing manner as he flexed his hold on the handle of his axe idly. “I know all about that. Mine’s extremely selfless, too.”

“Axel!”

The grin on Axel’s lips softened into a warm fondness. “Speaking of which, here he comes,” he said before he turned on his heel and headed in the direction his name was seemingly called from, waving an idle at Fafnir over his shoulder. “See you around.”

“Sure,” Fafnir said easily in return, his hand still resting lightly against Flavio’s side.

Flavio watched as the redhead walked away before he turned toward Fafnir, an expression of confusion on his face. “Uh, who was that?”

“The guy that Cass didn’t want me to meet in fear that we might team up for a bar fight and level the place,” Fafnir replied as he kept his gaze on the said redhead.

“Oh,” Flavio muttered before he, too, returned his gaze toward Axel. He released a soft sound of surprise when a young man, shorter than Axel, raced over to him. His orange hair and violet eyes seemed to compliment the white medic coat. “Oh, that’s Lynus.”

Fafnir’s hand slid around to rest against the small of Flavio’s back, feeling a sense of kinship toward the two when Axel dropped his axe from his shoulder and reached out with his other hand to place gently against Lynus’ side. He smiled as the tangerine head seemed to fuss over him, checking him over for injuries, quite literally patting him down to make sure.

Axel must have said something to him about their meeting as Lynus tilted his head to the side before suddenly glancing over in their direction. A kind smile quickly appeared on his lips and he sent a small wave in their direction as he stayed close to Axel.

Subconsciously, Flavio moved a step closer to Fafnir and returned the wave with a small one of his own, also wearing a smile.

“They seem really nice,” Flavio commented. “I wonder what the rest of their guild is like.”

Fafnir got the feeling that they would find out soon enough.


	3. An Adorably Grumpy Intruder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Flavio gets an unexpected visitor.
> 
> AN: Thank you all so much for all the kudos!

Before trekking into the labyrinth, Flavio always liked to spend a moment checking his equipment and supplies, and to make sure that he always had two Ariadne Threads on him; one in his kit, the other tied to his wrist for when things turned south far quicker than he would like, using the time that it would take to search for the thread by putting it to better use. Like checking to see where everyone was and such.

He also liked to recheck the monster codex to get a quick outline to what kinds of monsters he would be expecting to encounter for the day. He kept his door to his room unlocked and slightly ajar during this time to let Fafnir and the others know that he was ready when they were.

Flavio was abruptly pulled from his routine when the door to his room suddenly burst opened. He jumped in his seat and spun around in time to see a young man with messy brown hair in a forest green overcoat that gunner’s wore practically hurl himself into his room and slammed the door shut behind him.

“I’m not here!” he unexpectedly hissed at him before scurrying across the room and ducking down behind a large chest of draws. He crouched down, knees toward his chest as he covered his head with his hands.

Flavio openly gaped at him, rendered speechless. Was he hiding? From who? Why? What in the world-?

“Macerio~!” a feminine voice sung cheerfully outside, followed by the sound of someone skipping. Yes, skipping in an overly cheerful manner.

Macerio…? Wasn’t that the name of one of Lynus’ guildmates? Yeah, pretty sure it was. So he hazarded a guess that the one calling his name outside of his room was one of the Pinkettes called Binah? The fearsome matchmaker.

Throwing a glance over toward the gunner to find him all but cowering, Flavio quietly got up from his chair and made his way to the door. He opened it enough to peek out, his gaze immediately falling upon the lone occupant of the hallway. A young woman, probably mid-teens, with pink-hair in pigtails and a troubadour’s outfit stood in the centre of the hall, her hands planted firmly on her hips in an irritated manner as she looked around.

“Macerio, you jerk!” she called out again, a strong sense of annoyance in her voice as she lifted a threatening fist into the air. “You can’t hide forever! I know where you live!”

Barely smothering a snigger, Flavio watched as the young girl huff loudly before continuing on her way. He waited until she was out of sight, and hopefully out of hearing range, before quietly shutting the door and turning his attention to the cringing gunner.

“She’s gone now,” he said with a smile.

Wordlessly, the brown-haired gunner shifted in his position, turning around to grip at the corner of the dresser and peering over it in a skittish manner. He wouldn’t come out of hiding, though.

“Are you sure?” he asked as he stared suspiciously at the door, ready to duck down and hide again with just a second’s notice.

“For now, at least,” Flavio continued as he sat backwards on his chair and rested his chin on his arms. “Let me guess; you’re Macerio?”

The gunner immediately snapped his attention toward him, his eyes narrowed slightly. “How did you know?”

“Lynus mentioned you,” Flavio said simply.

Macerio perked up a little, almost in relief. “What did he say?”

Flavio smiled. “That you are the unwilling accomplice for the Pinkettes.”

“Damn it!” Macerio unexpectedly said as he dropped his forehead against the chest of draw, letting out a low groan. “Totally not fair! He could have at least told you about my gun prowess…”

“If it helps, he did say that you are adorably grumpy.”

“That doesn’t help!”

Flavio laughed to himself. His reactions were amusing.

“Macerio?” another voice from outside the room called out, immediately causing Macerio to lift his head up and look over at the door. “You can come out now. Binah has left the inn.”

Macerio released a loud and perhaps overly dramatic sigh of relief and heaved himself to his feet. “That’s Lirit,” he muttered as he opened the door and peered out. “Is she really gone?”

Pushing himself up off his chair, Flavio also wandered over to the door to stand behind the shorter gunner and peered over the top of his head. Outside was another young man, probably about the same age, with orange hair that reached his shoulders and the attire of a troubadour.

“Yes, she’s gone,” he said as he tried to coax Macerio out of the room with a reassuring smile. “What room where you hiding in?”

“Mine,” Flavio said as he opened the door fully.

Immediately, a look of surprised appeared on Lirit’s face and he gaped at him for a moment. However, his surprised quickly gave way to suspicious caution as he slowly sneaked out a hand to grasp at Macerio’s elbow and pulled him toward him. And the gunner was too busy skittishly glancing around to notice his companion’s protectiveness.

“Don’t worry,” Flavio said as he raised his hands in a pacifying manner. “The name’s Flavio. Hanna knows me and so does Lynus.”

Lirit seemed to relax a little after that, although he kept hold of Macerio’s arm, either just to be sure, or out of habit of protectiveness. And the gunner still hadn’t noticed.

“I’m really sorry about Macerio unexpectedly invading your room,” Lirit said in a truly apologetic manner before he abruptly turned his attention toward Macerio, an expression of disapproval on his face as he tugged lightly on his arm. “That’s dangerous, Macerio. You can’t throw yourself into just anyone’s room. You are honestly too cute for your own good.”

“I’m not cute!” Macerio immediately rebuked in an indignant fashion, still seemingly unaware that Lirit was holding onto his arm. “I’m a fearsome gunner!”

“Yes, of course you are,” Lirit said as he nodded his head idly.

Macerio tried to scowl at him, but honestly it looked more like an annoyed pout. Honestly, Flavio was having a hard time imaging him anything remotely fearsome or threatening.

“Are you patronizing me?” Macerio asked Lirit in an accusatory tone.

“Of course not,” Lirit said with an innocent smile before he turned to look over at Flavio and his grin widen into an almost…devious manner. “Isn’t it endearing how he pretends to be so manly?”

Flavio barely managed to hold back a laugh and nodded his head in a playfully serious way. “Very adorable.”

“I’m not adorable!” Macerio immediately squawked. “Now you’re both picking on me!”

“No we’re not,” Flavio said with a pacifying tone.

“Just stating the truth,” Lirit continued.

“Shut up!”

“Huh?” Lirit suddenly muttered as he turned his head slightly, appearing as if he had just heard a noise behind him. “Is that Binah?”

Macerio released a sound that could really only be described as a startled squeal before abruptly diving back into Flavio’s room, to no doubt hide somewhere once again. And Lirit just watched him disappear with a small smile on his lips. He then turned to face the stairs, his arms folded behind his back.

However, instead of the pink-haired troubadour like Lirit had said, an easily recognisable orange-haired medic ascended the stairs instead.

“Hi Lynus,” Lirit greeted cheerfully.

“Oh, hello Lirit,” Lynus replied with a warm smile before a flicker of realisation appeared in his eyes. “Ah, Flavio, too?”

“Hey,” Flavio greeted in return as Lynus made his way over to them.

As soon as Lynus was close enough, Lirit hugged the other carrot-top, the medic allowing him to virtually cling to him without a hint of annoyance. In fact, he looked used to it, so it was obvious that it had happened numerous times before. And, to be honest, Lynus did look somewhat huggable.

“We’re just chatting,” Lirit said as he shifted to stand behind Lynus, but kept his arms around his neck in a purely platonic hug, his chin resting on Lynus’ shoulder.

“Oh, good,” Lynus said as he idly patted Lirit’s arm, looking completely comfortable as he glanced over at Flavio. “I’m glad that you were able to meet my little brother, Flavio.”

Flavio quirked his head to the side as a small played on his lips. “Little?” Lirit appeared a few good inches taller.

Lynus tried to give him an annoyed look, but he still had a smile on his lips nonetheless, smacking at Lirit’s arm light as the other sniggered softly. “I should say younger, shouldn’t I? Lirit had the audacity to grow taller than me.”

“You’re still cuter than me,” Lirit said as he hugged Lynus tightly before pulling away.

“Don’t patronize your elders,” Lynus said simply in response before frowning slightly. “Anyway, have you seen Magnus? He had a slight headache this morning, but now I can’t find him.”

Lirit shook his head regretfully. “I haven’t seen him. But I’ll send him to the clinic if I see him.”

“Good,” Lynus replied with a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“Hm? Another guildmate?” Flavio asked, prompting Lynus to turn toward him once more.

“Oh, yes,” Lynus replied. “Magnus is an alchemist. His blond hair and dark clothing gives him a slightly intimidating look, but reality is that he’s shy and skittish, but still very endearing. You haven’t met him?”

“No, but I have met someone else,” Flavio said as he shared a glance with Lirit, the troubadour’s grin growing a fraction wider with amusement.

Lynus tilted his head to the side in curiosity. “Hm?”

“Lynus!”

“Wha-?” was all Lynus was able to mutter before Macerio suddenly appeared in front of him, flung his arms around his neck and then positioned him in such a way that he was using him as a human shield.

“They’re picking on me,” Macerio said as he tried and ultimately failed miserably to glare angrily at Lirit and Flavio. “Tell them to stop.”

Lynus made no attempt to pull away from the brown-haired gunner, simply lifting a hand to tug at one of his arms. His violet eyes flickered over to Lirit before stopping on Flavio. “Do I want to know what’s going on?” he asked.

Lirit smiled brightly. “Macerio is just being adorably grumpy again.”

“I am not!”

Flavio couldn’t help but laugh as Macerio protested, Lirit teased, and Lynus simply regarded the two as a mother who was used to their playful bickering.

The members of the Guardian Guild sure were interesting.


	4. Survival Guide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Who could be responsible for the dead FOE with a single arrow through its heart?  
> AN: My schedule is a little tricky at the moment, but I’d like to try to update something (this book or the four other oneshot collection I have going on) at least once a week. Hopefully I can handle that…? Anyway, I also hope you’ll enjoy reading this oneshot!

As they walked through the red leaves of the second stratum, Fafnir told Flavio and the others about what had occurred when the two ragelopes made their way into town. He spoke about the red-haired landsknecht called Axel and how he was totally the one Cass didn’t want him to meet.

Flavio couldn’t help but muse how Cass would react if Fafnir and Axel wandered into the bar together. He’d probably have an aneurysm through simply yelling at them alone. Flavio wasn’t a trouble-maker by any stretch of the imagination, but it would be amusing to see Cass’ reaction nonetheless.

And Fafnir seemed to like this Axel person. He must be something if Fafnir was able to warm up to him so quickly. Maybe it was just his presence or something. Lynus had a reassuring presence of his own when Flavio was talking to him and he instantly liked him as well.

Quickly turning a sharp corner in the natural formed hallways, the entire party came to a stop. There, in the middle of a medium sized clearing was a fire drake. One of those dangerous and sometimes unpredictable lizard-type monsters that roamed through the second stratum sporadically. They were dangerous and they’ve yet to face one in battle. However…

“It’s dead?” Flavio murmured as he took a cautious step forward toward the red-coloured FOE.

There was a single arrow in the chest of the monster. No other injuries noted. No slice marks of a sword, no evidence of elemental magic. Nothing. Just the arrow. Was it possible for a single arrow to instantly kill a monster? What incredible marksmanship!

“It’s only just starting to decompose,” Bertrand said as he folded his arms over his chest, a slight frown on his lips. “Whoever did this must still be close by.”

He was right.

Moving away from the monstrous corpse, Flavio did a quick surveillance of the area. He didn’t feel the presence of danger. No sense of foreboding that he had often felt in the presence of someone or something dangerous.

The sound of someone purposely stepping on a twig caused Flavio to turn around, his gaze falling upon someone he didn’t know or recognised.

A few feet away from where Flavio and the rest of his party were gathered was a man about their age. And the first thing that Flavio noted was that he was inauspiciously trying not to look imposing or dangerous. His weapon was seen but holstered and he was standing still, his hands within sight.

For some reason, Flavio didn’t feel threatened or uneasy. Was it because he was a survivalist as well? Or was it because he was trying not to frighten them?

Whatever the reason, Flavio regarded the other with curiosity, even though he could feel Fafnir and the others become tense with unease. The man was a stranger, after all. And he could be the one responsible for the instant killing of such a large FOE.

The man had long blond hair that framed his face and fell over his shoulders, and reached down to the middle of his back. His sharp blue eyes stood out against the red scarf he had covering a good portion of his lower face. His hat with a pair of goggles and a feather shaded his face, giving him a distinctly shadowy look.

In all honesty, he was so silent he could easily be mistaken for a ghost.

“Oh, hello,” Flavio said, supressing a wince when those sharp eyes immediately turned toward him. “Are you the one who shot this fire drake?”

The other man didn’t respond. Not verbally. Not physically. He simply glanced over at the corpse before flicking his gaze back toward Flavio.

“Ah, he’s not deaf, is he?” Bertrand suddenly mumbled.

No, that couldn’t be right.

He just stood there, bow slung over his shoulder, one hand idly toying with one of the pockets of his survivalist vest, while the other hung by his side, clenching and unclenching into a fist. To the untrained eye, he was simply standing nonchalantly, but to Flavio he was fidgeting.

He was uncomfortable.

“Oh,” Arianna said, daunted by the silence between them. “Can…can you not speak, sir?”

Flavio turned to his guildmates, the suggestion that maybe the five of them gathered around was intimidating the other survivalist was on the tip of his tongue. He, however, grew silent when he heard the distinct sound of a twig snapping, as if someone has stepped upon it on purpose once more.

As Flavio immediately turned to look, a man dressed in protective silver armour, with short blond hair and blue eyes, and carrying a blue shield abruptly appeared from around a bend in the maze. He was rather tall, but not overly muscular, body size similar to that of Fafnir’s. He carried his shield easily in one arm, his gaze seemingly focused in on the blond-haired survivalist.

The other survivalist, too, turned to look and Flavio noticed a slight slumping of his shoulders from relief. Obviously they knew each other.

The protector’s gaze suddenly shifted toward them and a surprisingly friendly smile appeared on his lips and he moved until he reached the other man’s side. The survivalist shifted slightly on his feet, taking a half step to subtly move behind him, and the protector nodded his head ever so slightly.

Flavio wouldn’t say that they were standoffish…but maybe guarded? Protective of one another?

“You’ll have to excuse my companion,” the protector suddenly said as he turned his attention toward them again with a polite smile. “He’s not being rude, I assure you. He simply doesn’t like to communicate with those he doesn’t know all that well.”

Yeah, Flavio thought as much.

“Let me introduce ourselves,” the protector continued, undaunted. “My name is Jhon and my partner here is Tobyn.”

Tobyn? Wasn’t that the name of…?

“Oh, you’re Lynus’ guildmates?” Flavio unintentionally interrupted his guildmates from returning the introduction in kind, immediately gaining the attention of the two blond-haired, blue-eyed men.

“Yes, that’s right,” Jhon replied with a polite smile. “We are members of the Guardians Guild.”

“Nice to meet you,” Flavio said in return, his guildmates having fallen silent, seemingly leaving him with communicating with the two blonds on his own. “My name is Flavio, this is Fafnir, Arianna, Bertrand, and Chloe. We’re known simply as the Library Guild.”

Tobyn, the silent survivalist, seemed to perk up a little. Though he still looked suspicious and stoic. “How do you know Lynus?” he suddenly asked, his voice low and soft as he kept his gaze on Flavio.

Instead of acting surprised that the blond could speak, Flavio turned his attention toward him and smiled in a friendly manner. “Oh, I met Lynus this morning and we immediately started chatting. He mentioned some of the names of his guildmates and, well, he kinda reminded me of a proud parent.”

Jhon laughed lightly with an air of amusement in his tone. “That sounds about right. He doesn’t like talking about himself, but given the chance he will chat aimlessly about his guildmates.”

Tobyn nodded his head idly, though he still looked a little wary. “Lynus mentioned us?”

“He mentioned that you are interested in monsters and such,” Flavio explained. “We were talking about…the ruins outside of town and the materials that can be gathered there, you know?”

The tension in Tobyn’s shoulders unexpectedly softened. “Hm.”

Jhon peered at Tobyn from the corner of his eye with a small sense of amusement in his grin. “You have his interest now. Tobyn here is an incredible monster tracker.” Jhon’s gaze then flickered over to the deceased fire drake. “And hunter, if it calls for it.”

“Ah, so it was you who shot that Fire Drake,” Flavio said as he perked up himself. “That was an amazing shot.”

Surprisingly, Tobyn’s cheeks reddened and he quickly reached up with his hand to idly tug at the red scarf around his neck. “I just know where to aim,” he murmured as he looked off to the side. “Six inches down from the base of the throat. A little off to the left is the heart.”

“Ah, really? Hang on, let me write this down.” Flavio muttered as he abruptly shrugged off his bag off of his shoulders and crouched down to his knees. He reached in to pluck out a notebook he always carried with him for jotting down notes in. He flipped it open to a blank page and pulled out a pencil.

He titled the page ‘Fire Drake’ before jotting down what Tobyn had just said. It was valuable information and if Flavio could somehow manage it, it might prove critical for future use.

As he wrote down where to aim for an instant kill, Tobyn unexpectedly crouched in front of him, looking at his notebook as well.

“They can’t lie on the thorns, as their undersides are vulnerable,” he said. “They move quickly over the thorns, but tend to lie on the grass, squatting down to protect their underside. To outrun them, make sure they stick to the grass.”

Flavio nodded his head as he wrote down the information quickly and eagerly. “Right…stick to grass…”

“Are you heading to the eighth floor?” Tobyn asked him.

“We’ll be quickly passing through,” Flavio answered simply before a smile made its way to his lips as he regarded the blond. “You mean the Attack Cactuses?”

Tobyn nodded his head once, his brow furrowing slightly. “They’re incredibly stupid.”

“I know, right? Lead them to the thorns and they practically defeat themselves.”

“You have an Ariadne Thread on your wrist?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, just a precaution, you know?”

“Hn. You don’t have a knife in your boot as well, do you?”

“Ah, no?”

“You should,” Tobyn said in a firm manner. “If anything happened to your bow, at least you can still defend yourself. Also, it proves handy for gathering material in a hurry.”

“You’re totally right,” Flavio said as he idly pointed the end of his pencil at his fellow survivalist, something he did when he totally agreed with what someone had just said while in the middle of writing. “I should do that.”

They were suddenly interrupted when Jhon seemed to chuckle with amusement. “Well, is this the kinship between survivalists?” he asked as he turned his attention toward Flavio. “Or are you a simply a sociable person?”

As if startled, Tobyn pushed himself to stand on his feet, once again toying with the edge of his scarf.

“Oh Sir Flavio is able to befriend just about everyone we meet,” Arianna immediately said with a smile on her lips. “That’s what makes him so delightful.”

Flavio blushed lightly and scratched the back of his neck, feeling slightly embarrassed for becoming lost in conversation once more. He glanced over at Fafnir and found him also looking somewhat amused and he felt his cheeks heat up further. Especially when everyone seemed to be agreeing with Arianna.

“Y-yeah, well…” Flavio muttered.

The blond-haired protector, however, tilted his head to the side in a curious manner. “Sir? Are you of nobility?”

“No!” Flavio replied immediately, his blush deepening a shade or two. “It’s just something Arianna calls everyone, you see. Very polite.”

“Ah, I see,” Jhon said as he continued to smile in a friendly way. “Well, it’s still good to see Tobyn getting along with others.”

Tobyn glared at him from the side, though he didn’t say anything, and Jhon expertly ignored the look of scorn and embarrassment. It was obvious that the two were close. It was…comforting in a way.

Without warning, Tobyn reached out with his foot and lightly kicked at the back of Jhon’s leg, causing his knee to buckle for a second. But Jhon remained standing and didn’t seem remotely perturbed by the action. Instead, he turned his full attention to Tobyn and they shared a silently conversation through their eyes.

Jhon looked away from Tobyn and toward them with an apologetic expression on his face. “Ah, but we’ve kept you long enough. We, too, have a few errands we need to complete before heading back. May you journey safely.”

“Yes, see you back in town,” Flavio said as the two blonds silently bid them farewell and walked off into the red foliage of the second stratum.

Silence followed as Flavio set about returning his notebook back into his bag. He actually learnt some valuable information from Tobyn. He wondered if he could get the blond to compare monster codexes with him in town some time?

“Jeez. It seems like you’re making new friends left, right, and centre, Kid,” Bertrand suddenly commented to him.

Flavio shrugged a shoulder as he placed his bag back onto his back so that they could continue on their way. He couldn’t dispute what Bertrand said because he was right. And he was looking forward to meeting more of the members of the Guardian Guild.


	5. The Adorable and the Intimidating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: The blond-haired alchemist that bumped into Fafnir looked to be in pain. The ronin, on the other hand, looked intimidating…
> 
> AN: Honestly, I’m having so much fun writing these :3 Enjoy!

Flavio chatted idly with Fafnir and Arianna as the three of them headed in the direction of the café. It was around dinner time and they always made sure to visit Regina then and eat whatever recipe she had managed to cook that day.

As Fafnir turned his attention toward Arianna on his right to answer her inquiry, he suddenly jostled forward, taking a half step. An expression of mild surprised appeared on his face and he immediately turned around to look behind him, acting as if someone or something just pushed him from behind.

Flavio was about to ask him what was wrong when he heard a sound akin to a muffled whimper and the sound of someone falling to the ground. His eyebrows furrowing, he took a step to the side to also peer behind Fafnir. What he saw was someone with blond hair and dressed in black clothing as they sat haphazardly on the ground. They were clutching at their head, fingers curled tightly around the short blond strands.

Immediately, Flavio felt a sense of concern wash over him when he realised that the blond appeared to be trembling slightly. Although, he wasn’t sure it was entirely due to fear…

He shared a glance with Fafnir, his friend looking baffled. He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the person that bumped into him. He certainly didn’t know how to react to someone practically cowering on the ground in front of him.

“Is something the matter?” Arianna asked before she, too, moved to glance behind Fafnir. She barely stifled a gasp when her gaze fell upon the now mumbling blond. “A-are you all right, sir?”

“I-I’m sorry,” the man whimpered and he continued to clutch at his head. “F-for bumping into y-you.”

“No, it’s fine,” Flavio said as he crouched down in front of the man, noticing the his black clothing that was similar to what male alchemists wore and soft blond hair. “Are you hurt? Is something wrong?”

The man glanced up at him for a moment and Flavio saw vivid blue eyes before his face creased into a look of pain and he dropped his chin to his chest and trembled slightly.

Flavio was reluctant to reach out to touch the blond as he might hurt him. He was clearly suffering, and not from walking into the back of Fafnir. He was clutching his head, his fingers kneading painfully through his hair. It was as if he was experiencing some kind of intense pain in his head.

A headache?

Wait…He couldn’t be the one that Lynus was looking for? His guildmate. What was his name again?

“Magnus?” Flavio tested softly.

The blond tensed for a moment and Flavio took that as a sign that his name was indeed Magnus. And he was indeed still suffering from his headache. Migraine now, from the look of it.

“Do you know this man, Sir Flavio?” Arianna asked him.

Taking his gaze away from the alchemist, Flavio looked over at Fafnir and Arianna, the two wearing expressions of concern. “He’s part of the Guardian Guild, I think.”

Fafnir nodded his head in understanding toward him before his gaze abruptly looked to the right and his eyes narrow ever so slightly.

Startled, Flavio turned to look as well and felt a tremor of fear race down his spine. A figure moved out of the shadows of a back alley. Black hair, solid muscles, massive scar on his chest; the gold on his armguards glinted as he walked with powerful pride…toward them.

Oh crap…

He…he wasn’t looking at them, though. His attention appeared to be on the blond-haired alchemist that was trying and failing to push himself to his feet.

Although the man’s stoic expression and piercing eyes was intimidating - far worse than Regina’s and on-par with several FOEs in the labyrinth, Flavio was reluctant to move away from the alchemist.

“Flavio,” Fafnir suddenly called to him.

Taking his gaze away from the fearsome ronin, Flavio was inwardly surprised that Fafnir was motioning for him to move away. But, stranger still, it wasn’t just because he was protective of him; he had a particular expression on his face. Like he knew something that he didn’t.

Wordlessly, and slowly, Flavio pushed himself to his feet and took two steps back. He couldn’t help but feel surprise when the ronin quickly reached the blonde’s side and knelt next to him.

“Magnus,” the ronin said, his voice somewhat…tender?

Arianna made a soft sound, akin to a gasp of surprise, when the ronin unexpectedly leaned forward and scooped Magnus into his arms. He did it so fluently and effortlessly, as if the blond weighed next to nothing to him. And, the most surprising of all, the blond seemed to relax, curling himself against the ronin’s chest, his head nestled under his chin.

Flavio was certain that the stoic, dark-haired ronin’s eyes softened into a look of…tenderness. That was the only word he could think of.

For some reason, it made Flavio’s heart skip a beat. He was…moved by the sight of them?

“Lynus has been looking for him,” Flavio suddenly blurted out, causing the dark-haired ronin to turn (almost ominously, if he was to be honest) and narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “H-he has a headache, right? From this morning. Y-you should head to the clinic.”

The impressive ronin gazed at him in a critical manner, no doubt trying to engage his sincerity. His eyes were, ah, intimidating to say the least.

He said nothing. Instead, there was a slight nod of his head and softly, and subtly, his hold around the blond in his arms tightened as he turned on his heel and headed in the direction of the inn. He moved quickly, but carefully and silently. It was almost…as if he wanted to ensure that no more pain would come to the man in his arms.

Flavio was baffled by what he had just witnessed.

Magnus was safe with him, wasn’t he? Still, Flavio couldn’t help but worry. He looked like he was in such pain. No one should be in that much pain.

“Faf, you think we-?”

“It’s fine,” Fafnir unexpectedly said as his gaze stayed glued in the direction where the ronin was carefully walking away. “No safer place for him to be.”

Flavio was about to ask Fafnir what he meant by that when Arianna softly chimed in, a gentle smile on her lips.

“They appear very close,” she said as she folded her hand elegantly in front of her. “It is very obvious that that man will let nothing happen to the charge in his arms.”

There was an almost…wistful look on her face. “They were very beautiful…”

…She thought so, too?

Arianna closed her eyes for a moment before she smiled brightly again and she turned her attention to both Fafnir and Flavio. “Let us continue to the restaurant,” she suggested cheerfully. “Dame Regina is waiting for us.”

“Ah, sure,” Flavio said as Arianna smiled and took the lead, while Fafnir snared Flavio’s elbow in his hand and tugged him along.

… … … … …

Flavio couldn’t contain his concern. He was fidgeting at the café; so much that Regina all but kicked him out, telling him to check the clinic at the inn if he saw so worried. He couldn’t help it, ya know?

As he walked into the inn and headed in the direction of where the clinic was located in, Flavio noticed a small group of explorers lingering just out the front of the patient room. And he recognised them. They were three members of the Guardians; one redhead and two blonds. Axel had his arm on Jhon’s shoulder, leaning casually against the blond-haired protector, while the two had their attention on Tobyn, the blond-survivalist seemingly venting. If the narrowing of his eyes and sharp motions with his hands were any indication.

Flavio approached the group to ask them whether the blond-haired alchemist was indeed their guildmate and what happened to him. As he drew closer, Jhon looked up and noticed him. He nodded his head in greeting before turning his attention to Axel, probably to alert him of his presence.

Axel turned around and soon as Flavio was close enough he gave him a half smile. “Ah, so you’re the one Shen mentioned,” he said to him.

Flavio tilted his head to the side in confusion. Shen? Was that the name of the ronin?

Jhon unexpectedly chuckled. “He didn’t tell you his name, did he?”

“Honestly, he barely uttered a word,” Flavio replied as he scratched his cheek idly. “His glare says enough, anyway.”

Axel released a snort of amusement. “He looks cold and stoic on the outside, but ‘secretly,” he used his fingers to create quotation marks and smirked. “he has a soft spot for cute things. One such cute thing is Magnus.”

_“Really?”_ Flavio would have to wait and see for himself to fully believe it.

Axel appeared if he wanted to say more when a certain orange-haired medic stepped out of the clinic. He immediately glanced over in their direction and he smiled when his gaze locked with Flavio’s.

“Oh good,” he said. “You’re the one who found Magnus for me.”

Well, not exactly found. He found them. But, hey, semantics.

“How is he?” Flavio asked in genuine concerned.

Lynus hummed lightly in thought for a moment. “His migraine has been subdued for now, but he’s been ordered rest for the next day. Poor thing suffers from terrible headaches and migraines.”

“Ah, it’s reassuring to know he’s on the mend.” Flavio wasn’t saying that to be polite. He meant it.

“Magnus wishes to give you his thanks,” Lynus continued and before Flavio could respond with either a ‘no need’ or ‘I’m just glad he’s ok’, Lynus turned to look back into the room he stepped out of and seemed to beckon someone out.

“It’s all right,” he said gently. “Come on out.”

Slowly, a now familiar blond-haired man stepped out of the room in an almost skittish manner. His eyes widen when he locked gazes with him and he suddenly made a noise of surprise and embarrassment, and blushed darkly. He grabbed the red scarf around his neck and lifted it up to try to cover his face.

It was…cute.

“Magnus, don’t be shy,” Lynus said in a gentle and comforting tone as he grabbed Magnus’ elbow and urged him forward. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. We’re right here.”

Magnus glanced over at Lynus and slowly lowered his scarf from his face. He abruptly dropped his hands and tugged at the bottom of his coat. He unexpectedly turned toward Flavio, but not quite having the courage to look at him, and took a step forward.

“Ah, th-thank you for helping m-me earlier,” he murmured softly as he curled his fingers around the hem of his jacket in a fidgeting manner and looked at the floor in front of him. “And, ah, I’m s-sorry for bothering you!”

Flavio was greatly startled when the blond suddenly reached into his pocket of his coat, pulled something out, and abruptly shove that something against his chest. Flavio made a noise of surprise, the air momentarily rushing from his lungs from the force of the shove, and he automatically reached up to grab whatever was pressed against him.

As soon as Flavio wrapped his fingers around the object, Magnus eeped out another “Sorry!” before turning on his heel and hurried away, heading deeper into the inn.

And everyone just watched him leave, expressions of endearment on their faces. So…it wasn’t hard for Flavio to imagine that the blond was that adorable all the time.

“Shen sends his thanks, too,” Lynus said to Flavio as he indicated to the object against Flavio’s before he, too, turned around and idly made his way back inside.

Looking down at the object, Flavio was surprised to find a grimoire stone. Aw, it was a thank you gift!

A sudden noise caused Flavio to furrow his brow and looked around in idly curiosity. He thought he heard a sound like something hitting a wall. A punch?

He looked over at the others, only to find them smirking.

“A head,” Tobyn unexpectedly murmured to him, his voice low. “Shen happened to witness that scene and had to head-butt a wall to keep up his stoic swordsman’s appearance.”

It was so difficult for Flavio not to laugh out loud.


	6. Late Night Confrontations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Flavio didn’t mean to get into a shouting match with the dark hunter, but, darn it, he started it!
> 
> AN: :3 Enjoy!

Flavio had started the habit of checking his survival kit before he went to bed to ensure he had everything. This particular night he realised that he was missing an Ariadne Thread. He knew that he could stop by the weapon shop in the morning, but he didn’t want to chance it as he might forget about the errand in the morning. Or he would have a restless sleep by continuously reminding himself to buy a new thread in the morning.

It was the middle of the night as Flavio quietly made his way out of his room and out of the inn. He stopped by the shop, which was still open and being manned by the night shift as explorers and adventurers went out at all hours of the day and night.

After getting what he needed, Flavio started the task of quietly making his way back inside the inn. He went for the back door as there was less people traffic and he didn’t want to disturb the other regulars at the inn.

However, as he reached the door he caught something move in the corner of his eye. He turned and tilted his head back slightly to look up. A window had opened and he could see a figure crouched on the windowsill. The figure moved and jumped into the tree that was close by, landing crouched on a branch.

At first Flavio felt a twinge of fear, figuring that someone had either robbed someone in their room or was trying to skip out on paying. However, he somewhat recognised the person.

White hair, deep tan skin, piercing gold eyes, and the attire of a dark hunter.

Flavio had seen him around the inn a few times, usually at night though when everyone else was or should be asleep. He, however, was always lounging around near windows. Open windows. The higher the better, if he was to assume anything.

He didn’t know what to make of him to be honest. His aura and the way he would slouch his shoulders like some kind of defiant, moody teenager was somewhat irksome. Flavio couldn’t explain why, though.

The dark hunter suddenly snapped his attention in his direction and narrowed his eyes into an annoyed squint. “What are you looking at?” he abruptly asked him, his tone confrontational.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep or maybe he was dehydrated, but Flavio felt irritated. “Do you have problems with doors?” he unexpectedly asked him as he indicated to the door he was supposed to be walking through himself. “I can teach you how to use one. It'll be difficult, but I'm patient.”

The dark hunter still perched up in the tree bristled wildly, almost comically. “The hell is that supposed to mean?! I'm surprised a scrawny chipmunk like you has the upper body strength to even open a door.”

“C-chipmunk?” Flavio spluttered with indignity before he, too, bristled and pointed an accusing finger at him. “That's a lot coming from someone who looks like a squirrel with rabies!”

“Did you just call me a squirrel?!” he snarled in return, once again prickling before he dropped out of the tree to the ground and pointed a challenging finger at him. “That's it, fight me!”

“Gladly!” Flavio said loudly in response.

He, however, soon froze in disbelief at himself. W-what was he saying?! He didn’t have a weapon! Oh crap…

Before the dark hunter could say or do anything, a window on the ground floor of the inn abruptly opened and a slightly older man with black hair with eccentric beading mixed throughout the dreadlocks and dark brown skin rested his hands against the window sill and leaned out.

“Rahas,” he said, causing the dark hunter to twitch, the fight momentarily fading from him. “If you're trying to sneak out to train in secret, try to do it _quietly.”_

The young man who was named Rahas cringed. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath.

Another window suddenly opened, a floor higher, and a man with orange hair and violet eyes popped his head out. He was immediately recognisable despite the fact he had his hair free from his usual ponytail and was dusting over his shoulders.

“I thought I recognised voices,” Lynus said as he sleepily rubbed at his eyes. “Rahas, it's late, get back inside. You too, Flavio.”

Flavio felt himself flinch for whatever reason and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “W-well, I was and-”

“Tch,” Rahas muttered as he folded his arms defiantly over his chest. “You're not my mom, Lynus. If I want to go out at night, I will.”

Lynus lowered his hand as a disapproving frown appeared on his lips. “You need proper rest. I will not have you hurting yourself with improper exercise and inadequate diet.”

“Make me!” Rahas quickly retorted.

Lynus’ frown deepened ever so slightly, yet he didn’t seem at all perturbed or offended by the dark hunter. He sure did look disappointed, though. Like he had hoped for better.

“Don't talk to you mother like that,” the man with the dreadlocks chided abruptly.

Rahas immediately zoned in on him. “Put a sock in it, grandpa!”

The man’s eyes narrowed fearsomely, his lips tightly drawn, and if Flavio was seeing correctly, his right eyebrow was also twitching. He hazard a guess that the man had experienced his defiance several times before. And it still annoyed the crap out of him.

“You're in trouble now,” Flavio was unable to prevent himself from stating.

And Rahas immediately whorled around to face him. “Shut up!”

…Huh. He was having three arguments with three different people. _Incredible._

There was a loud sound of another window opening and a voice he recognised called out, causing Flavio to jump.

“Flavio! Where have you been?”

“F-Fafnir?” Flavio stuttered as he whipped around in the direction the voice came from and he craned his neck back to look at the second floor. And sure enough, Fafnir was leaning out the window, a frown on his lips as he stared down at him. “I was just getting something from the weapon shop.”

Fafnir arched a sceptical eyebrow at him. “At 2am?”

“Yes, honestly,” Flavio insisted. “It was still open, but not by Abigail, which is understandable since it's so late and-”

“I've been looking for you,” Fafnir interrupted him, still not looking all that convinced or pleased. “Get back inside.”

“Dude, I was gone like ten minutes,” Flavio protested, planting his hands on his hips. “And why are you still doing up?”

Fafnir had the audacity to roll his eyes, dismissing his question. “Inside.”

Flavio sighed, his shoulders drooping. So stubborn. “Ok ok,” he said, knowing better than to argue back.

“Whipped.”

Flavio bristled and spun around the dark hunter who had muttered that insult at him. “I don’t want to hear that from a dark hunter!” he fumed.

Rahas arched an eyebrow at him and folded his arms over his chest, looking rather condescending. “Keep your bedroom antics to yourself.”

Flavio felt his cheeks heat up and he flailed. “W-what the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“Rahas,” Lynus called out with a slight warning tone. “Don’t pick on Flavio.”

Flavio nodded his head eagerly. “Yeah, don’t pick on Flavio.”

With his arms still folded across his chest, Rahas narrowed his gaze at him in a purely defiant manner. “I’ll pick on whoever the hell I like!”

Fafnir audibly snorted. “Doubt you can actually use a whip,” he unexpectedly muttered, but loud enough for others to hear.

“Why, you offering to teach me?” Rahas swiftly retorted as he turned his attention to Fafnir and granted him a rather…disgusted look. “Keep that in the bedroom.”

Fafnir’s eye twitched and he suddenly grabbed at the sides of the window and placed a foot on the windowsill, more than ready to push himself out of it. “You little shit…”

“F-Fafnir!” Flavio said as he flailed his arms at him to get back inside. “Calm down! No fighting in the middle of the night!”

Another window abruptly opened and a new voice entered the fray. “What's with all the yelling out here?! Oh, hey, Flavio!

Flavio felt surprised and he turned to see who was calling out to him. It was Macerio, the brown-haired gunner. “Ah, hey?” Flavio returned with a slight wave.

Macerio quickly turned his attention to Rahas and a frown appeared on his lips. “Dude, Rahas, what are you doing?”

“The more important question is what are you doing in my room?” Rahas returned quickly.

“Lirit was lonely,” Macerio answered innocently with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “So I'm keeping him company.”

“I just fucking left!” Rahas shouted as he bristled and pointed an accusing finger at him. “What were you doing, hiding in the closet or something?”

Macerio cutely tilted his head to the side. “Why would I do that?”

Rahas snorted as he rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Just don't do _it_ in my bed.”

“Huh?” Macerio blinked in pure confusion. “What's that supposed to mean? Do what?”

Yet another window opened, rather violently this time, and a certain survivalist with long blond hair leaned out, his attention in the direction of where Macerio was. “They're not doing shit. Lirit, I know you can hear me!”

Lirit quickly appeared in the same window Macerio was and leaned over Macerio’s back, his arms inauspiciously around the gunner’s waist. “I'll be good, I promise!”

Tobyn bristled protectively before he grabbed the sides of the window and appeared more than ready to push himself out of it as well. “Don't even think about it!”

Macerio still looked confused, his brow furrowing deeply. “What are you going on about?”

“Tobyn, calm down!” A voice ordered from inside the room Tobyn was located and a pair of arms suddenly found themselves around Tobyn’s waist, trying to pull him back inside. “They're both respectable young men. They can work it out for themselves!”

But Tobyn kept a firm grip on the sides of the window. “Not yet, they don't!” he hissed.

“I still haven't got a clue what you're talking about!” Macerio shouted before he threw his head back and yelled, “Lynus!”

Glancing over at the medic, Flavio found Lynus rubbing his temples with his fingers, his face lightly flushed. “You can ask Tobyn _all_ about it tomorrow.”

Tobyn visibly twitched, his head dropping forward as if he just realised he made a terrible mistake.

“Idiots,” Rahas muttered under his breath.

“Look, I really don't care who sleeps where,” Lynus stated as he looked over at everyone with an expression of weariness on his face. “But you all need to actually sleep at some point. I don't care how many cups of coffee you think can sustain you.”

“Agreed,” Fafnir chimed in before anyone else could and narrowed his eyes in Flavio’s direction, almost daring him to dispute him. “Flavio.”

Flavio sighed and held his hands up in a pacifying manner. “Ok, ok! No more coffee tonight.”

Rahas roughly folded his arms over his chest and he appeared to be pouting. “I'm not sleeping in the same room as Lirit and Macerio.”

“Sleep in Hamza's room then!” Macerio responded.

“I'd rather sleep in a ditch!”

The first man, the one that must be named Hamza, snorted loudly. “Fine with me,” he said.

“Screw you, old man.”

“Rahas, don't be rude,” Lynus chided.

“You should listen to your mother,” Flavio added.

Rahas whirled around to face him like he had before. “Stay out of this,” he practically snarled at him.

There was a sudden noise of surprise and Flavio turned his gaze toward Lynus’ window, only to see the medic pressed to one corner of the window frame and the redheaded landsknecht leaning over him.

Axel unexpectedly placed his hands over Lynus’ ears, startling the tangerine top greatly, before he drew in a sharp breath.

“Pull your dumb asses' back inside and get some sleep!” he yelled, causing everyone to jump in fright, Macerio almost falling out the window had Lirit not been holding him around the waist. “It's 2am in the morning, for fuck's sake!”

Another window sharply opened and Shen appeared, his foot perched on the window sill, appearing as though he would vault off of it and to the ground and physically stop anyone making a noise. “Agreed. Magnus has a headache.”

“I-I’m sorry!” a voice squeaked from inside the room.

There was a chorus of ‘goodnight!’ before everyone (minus Fafnir) retreated back into their rooms, closing the windows quickly after.

And then…silence.

That…that was…

Was that normal for the Guardian Guild?

“…What just happened?” Flavio found himself mumbling in the silent aftermath.

“You get used to it,” Rahas muttered as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and turned to walk away from the inn. “Chipmunk.”

Flavio felt his eye twitch. “Squirrel.”

Rahas bristled, but said nothing and kept walking, practically slinking (or would that be sulking?) away.

…Hope he gets an earful from Lynus in the morning.

“Well,” he heard Fafnir drawl from his window. “That was entertaining.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Flavio said as he roughly scratched the back of his head and turned to look up at Fafnir.

He found himself abruptly stilling. There was a rather…melancholy expression on Fafnir’s face as he gazed off in the distance.

“You'll fit in well with them,” Fafnir said, his voice soft, but audible over the silence of the night.

Flavio’s breath left his lungs in a rush. “What do you mean?”

“See you inside,” Fafnir said as he pulled himself back inside and closed the window.

Flavio didn’t quite understand why he felt an acute sense of fear just then. He…just had to brush it off as tiredness. Yeah, Fafnir was tired, too. That was all.


	7. Shocking Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flavio learns some important, but disheartening information about the reputation of the restaurant…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A rather serious oneshot this time, but I’m totally going somewhere with it. Trust me!

It was late afternoon, but Flavio found himself idly walking around High Lagaard. Fafnir, of course, wanted to go with him, but Flavio wanted to spend some time thinking to himself. And Fafnir had a few things he needed to do himself before their next jaunt into the labyrinth anyway.

He didn’t really understand Fafnir’s concern toward him. It was a surprisingly warm afternoon, and rather peaceful too. Perfect time for him to think about what Regina had said to them when they visited the restaurant for lunch.

Regina had been lamenting about the lack of customers staying at the restaurant after they had eaten and was asking them for help in gaining more patrons and keeping regulars. Flavio wanted to help of course, however, wasn’t entirely sure what they could do. He wasn’t an expert in the area of catering by any means. All he really knew about the hospitality was cooking and serving customers.

However, he was fairly certain that a restaurant needed more than just delicious food. And potential customers needed more of a reason to keep visiting, forking out their hard-earned money, than just because the food was nice.

And, well…maybe they needed a slightly friendlier chef? Regina could be a little bit…hard faced, for a lack of a better term.

Other than that…he was kinda at a loss.

Just as he reached the bottom of a small flight of stairs, Flavio heard someone call out to him.

“What’s a pretty boy like you doing in a place like this?”

Flavio couldn’t help but bristle at the ‘compliment’ and spun around to tell the enquirer to mind their own business. But he paused when he realised that there wasn’t a single person looking at him. There were several. And…they didn’t look to be the nicest of people.

“Tch,” one of them spat as they lingered in the shadows. “You’re from that library guild, aren’t you? The one with the brainless but oh-so precious princess?”

Flavio frowned. “She’s not-” he started to protest, only to be cut short when another shady looking individual (he couldn’t tell if they were man or woman, nor what class they were, if any) stepped from the shadows.

“They’re also the ones that the old fart from the Grand Duchy gave a restaurant to,” they supplied, which seemed to prompt ire from the gathering crowd.

“Yeah,” a young woman with her hair in pigtails and the attire of a dark hunter said as she sauntered into view, a scowl on her face. “Princesses always get special treatment, don’t they?”

W-well, most royalty did…

“Heard that the minister’s granddaughter is trying to prove a point.”

H-how did they know about-?

“Pfft,” the young woman snorted loudly as she folded her arms under her bust. “Yeah, right. Nothing says I’m an independent like having dear old grandpa build and give me a restaurant without charge, and then give me a guild to do all the heavy work for me while I relish in all the compliments and praise.”

Well, he couldn’t really dispute that…

“Typical noble,” the man that had drawn his attention in the first place spat violently. “They wouldn’t know what struggle meant. They’re just rolling in cash. I bet you’re rolling in cash, too, aren’t you, pretty boy?”

Flavio didn’t even try to verbally respond to that. It wouldn’t do any good. In fact, he was fairly certain that it would only make things worse.

“Maybe you could donate some?” someone else suddenly piped up. “Making money is hard in Lagaard, you know?”

Flavio simply began to back away slowly, his eyes darting to his surroundings. The area he had unintentionally wandered into seemed to be quite rundown. Obviously one of the lesser ranked part of the city.

Even so…whatever he had done to anger these people…?

“Even those from the lower wards deserve to eat, don’t you think?”

That…was an odd thing to ask him. Were they not getting any food?

“If you don’t want to make a donation, maybe you could get us money another way.”

“Yeah…”

Flavio’s foot hit the bottom step of the stairs he had previously descended. He didn’t want to turn to look. Didn’t want to take his eyes off the crowd in front of him. They had to be locals, right? Whoever they were, they were ganging up on him. They were volatile for reasons he didn’t quite understand. One thing he did understand was that they resented his guild and the restaurant.

He didn’t have the slightest idea what they meant about getting them money another way, but he didn’t want to hang around long enough to find out!

But…would he be able to make a run for it?

With his heart thundering in his chest, Flavio was about to spin around and bolt up the stairs to run when he heard a sound that made him all but stop breathing.

It was the sound of a low growl. Like that from an animal. A large animal.

Holding his breath, Flavio turned to look over his shoulder and saw a large white tiger with sabre like fangs standing at the top of the stairs. And it appeared to be peering down at him.

Oh crap…just what he didn’t need!

Slowly, the white tiger descended then the steps, its claws scraping across the pathway stones. Each step drew the tiger closer to Flavio, and he could see the tiger’s immense muscles flexing fluently beneath the white and black fur. It moved so gracefully that Flavio was torn between being awed by its majestic presence or frightened as it appeared that the tiger could strike him down without any effort whatsoever.

It was pretty obvious who was more dangerous between a white-tiger and a pack of disgruntled locals.

As it reached the bottom step, the white-tiger did something startling; it sat back into its back haunches next to Flavio, keeping its gaze upon the crowd that had threateningly gathered around him.

And the crowd backed away.

“That’s…” one of them murmured as they all stared at the tiger.

“I agree with our white-tiger friend,” a new voice stated suddenly. 

Glancing in the direction that the voice radiated from, Flavio watched as a short, elderly woman who relied on two walking sticks hobbled into the middle of the group. The crowd parted to allow her to move forward, she appearing completely unafraid of any of them. “There is no need to allow this confrontation to continue,” she added.

The volatility that the crowd had displayed previously started to dissipate and they backed down. Although, they still looked disgruntled and some still glared in Flavio’s direction.

“Fine,” a man with the scruffy beard muttered. “That white tiger’s from the Guardian Guild. You don’t mess with them.”

O-oh, the Guardian Guild? That…that was a relief!

“Unlike other guilds, the Guardians are more than willing to help us loathsome peasants,” the woman with the pigtails added before the crowd dispersed almost completely.

A few lingered, though, seemingly keeping a watchful gaze over the elderly woman.

“My apologies,” the elderly woman unexpectedly said to him, a truly apologetic expression on her wrinkle and worn face.

Truthfully, Flavio was still on high alert, tensing for any further confrontation. “Oh, ah…” he could only murmur, his heart still racing uncomfortably fast as he glanced between the older woman and the white tiger who seemed to be quite content to sit quietly by his side.

If…the white tiger was part of the Guardian Guild, could there also be another member close by?

“Chi-hung?” A new but ever so slightly recognisable voice called out, causing the white tiger to lift its head in acknowledgement. “Is there something the matter?”

Turning his attention to the stairs once more, Flavio watched as the man with the dark dreadlocks and tribal markings silently descended the stairs. He recognised the man to be the one that the feral looking dark hunter had called Hamza (and grandpa, if he wasn’t mistaken) from their…chat last night.

And from the arching of the man’s eyebrow, he recognised him, too…

“Ah, you’re the one that Rahas was fighting with last night,” he said with a somewhat teasing smile on his lips. “Flavio, if I’m not mistaken.”

Flavio winced and scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, and I’m really sorry about that.”

“Not at all,” Hamza said as he folded his arms beneath the folds of his war magus cloak. “It was very entertaining. My guild has taken a liking to you.”

Before Flavio could stutter out a response, Hamza looked away from him and turned his attention to the elderly woman. “Hm? Good evening, Barbara,” he said easily, surprisingly unconcerned by those who were still lingering in the background.

“Evening, dear,” the woman, Barbara, greeted in return with a small smile of fondness on her lips.

“Ah, yes,” Hamza suddenly said as he stood just a little bit taller, seemingly turning his attention to those who were lingering silently within the shadows of the lower ward. “The hospital has managed to temporarily open a soup kitchen for those in the lower wards today. Please help escort the elderly and the young so that they can eat for today.”

Huh? A soup kitchen?

“Temporarily?” Barbara queried as the locals that had been standing protectively on the sidelines stood to attention.

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Hamza replied, his expression turning unnervingly dark. “The hospital funding has…been reduced, to say the least.”

Flavio winced again and subconsciously took a step to the side to stand behind Hamza when the ward locals voiced their dismay and outrage at the news. Honestly, Flavio was also surprised. The hospital should have continuously and stable funding, right? They ensured the safety of not only the explorers of the labyrinth, but the residents of High Lagaard themselves! They should have top priority!

“Yes, I know,” Hamza said, his voice somehow quietening the furious protests. He seemed so…calm. Regal, almost. Clearly he had walked through these streets numerous times before and knew those who lived there quite well. And he had earned their respect.

“Please, the Guardian Guild is doing all they can to help,” Hamza reassured, which calmed them down further. “And please visit the hospital as soon as you can. Especially you, Barbara. I’m certain that you haven’t eaten today, have you?”

Barbara scoffed lightly in a hardened way. “My grandchildren will always come first,” she retorted as she turned away from Hamza and hobbled away.

“Of course,” Hamza replied with a curt, but somehow knowing nod of his head.

Slowly, the locals that had been harassing Flavio began to depart, scattering in all directions. To, hopefully, do as Hamza had asked of them.

Hamza spent a silent moment watching them all leave before nodding his head to himself, seemingly satisfied. He then turned his attention to Flavio, offering him a polite smile. “I have not introduced myself, have I? I am Hamza, leader to the Guardian Guild.” He quickly indicated to the white tiger with his hand. “And this is Chi-hung. Though he is our loyal beast companion, he is willing to aide any who are in need.”

Chi-hung flicked an ear at him in response.

“O-oh, it’s nice to meet you,” Flavio replied, although nervous, he was also feeling more at ease being in the leader’s presence. No wonder he garnered so much respect from the locals.

“Come, I’ll escort you to the inn,” Hamza unexpectedly commanded as he motioned for the steps with a wave of his hand.

Flavio simply nodded his head and fell a step behind the mighty war magus. Chi-hung, however, seemed to want to linger beside him, acting almost as a bodyguard. It was honestly reassuring.

“You should not wander these streets alone,” Hamza suddenly said to him, not immune to Flavio’s unease. “They’re not bad people. Just desperate. The leaders of High Lagaard don’t understand that, I’m afraid. They don’t understand that when people have no money, they’ll resort to stealing just to get food on their plates, especially for their families. I know I would.”

W-well, Flavio could see how some people would resort to such methods. Growing up in an orphanage, it was sometimes first come, first serve. But, surely there were other means to get the money and food necessary?

“But, the labyrinth-” Flavio started to mention.

“Not everyone who sets foot within is made for exploration,” Hamza interrupted him with a curt smile. “And with prices going up due to rivalry amongst the stores and cafes, constantly harvesting the first stratum doesn’t earn much money, I’m afraid.”

Oh, well…yeah, that was true. Trekking through the labyrinth, gathering materials, avoiding monsters; it wasn’t easy for veterans, let alone those who couldn’t afford the weapons and armours needed.

Did that…Was that one of the reasons the restaurant wasn’t popular?

“Regina and the restaurant aren’t exactly popular around the wards of Lagaard, are they?” Flavio couldn’t stop himself from asking.

Hamza released an audible sigh, appearing as if he had been on the receiving end of several complaints since the restaurant’s opening.

“I’m afraid not, no,” he said as a frown tugged on his lips and he glanced back at Flavio for a moment before returning his gaze forward. “There are many who find it…disrespectful. Lagaard was built from hard work, so to have the minister’s granddaughter given her own restaurant and guild…”

Hamza trailed off before glancing back at Flavio again to offer him a small smile. “Well, I’m sure you can appreciate their irritation.”

Flavio couldn’t help but wince and look down at the ground. He really hadn’t any idea that people felt that way about Regina and the restaurant. But as he thought back on it, even Hanna and Cass were wary and a little bit miffed to learn of the restaurant’s existence.

Flavio glanced over at Chi-hung when the white-tiger brushed against his side, almost as if trying to comfort him. He smiled down at the beast and idly trailed his fingertips over his fur, earning him a small purr in return. “Regina works very hard,” he murmured under his breath.

Hamza nodded his head idly, but there was a tightness of his lips. “She didn’t start from the bottom, did she?”

“No…” Flavio murmured and chewed on his bottom lip. “Is there a way to change that?”

“Hm? The reputation of the restaurant?” Hamza questioned, to which Flavio simply replied with a nod of his head.

Hamza hummed in thought as he folded one arm across his chest, the other scratching his chin. He walked silently and Flavio kept quiet to allow the other man to muse to himself. He, however, almost walked into the back of him when Hamza suddenly came to a stop. It was only then that Flavio realised that they had reached the entrance of the inn.

Honestly, he was so out of it today! Crap, he’d probably wasn’t going to be allowed to walk anywhere by himself ever again should Fafnir find out what happened to him today!

“It may be difficult,” Hamza said as he turned to face him. “However…have you thought of possibly using the money garnered from the restaurant to instead filter it back into restoring High Lagaard?”

Flavio turned to look at the older war magus and furrowed his brow. “You mean like in city development?”

Hamza nodded his head and dropped his arms to his sides. “Yes. I’m sure that would ease the minds of many. After all, on these streets, those who are noble or royal must prove themselves to be worthy of having vassals or subjects. Standing at the top means nothing if there is no one supporting you from below.”

Yeah, that actually made a lot of sense.

“If you are truly interested in helping the other wards of Lagaard, you should visit the hospital,” Hamza continued. “Or at the very least, speak with Lynus who can introduce you to those at the hospital. Until you gain the respect of those of the lower wards, I suggest you avoid them for now.”

Oh, that shouldn’t be a problem.

“Gaining their respect won’t be easy, will it?” Flavio couldn’t help but sigh. “The Guardian Guild is highly respected, though.”

A fond smile made its way upon Hamza’s lips. “Hm. We treat all we encounter with respect and dignity, even those we rescue from the labyrinth. To us, status and class are inconsequential. Everyone has to right to live without suffering.”

Live without suffering…That sounded nice.

“Excuse me; I have other appointments to attend to,” Hamza suddenly said as he turned away from the inn and motioned for Chi-hung. “Come, Chi-hung.”

Chi-hung flicked his tail in response before unexpectedly brushing against Flavio’s side, almost as if bidding a farewell as well before prowling over to Hamza’s side.

“T-thanks for the help earlier!” Flavio called out to the war magus.

Hamza waved a hand over his shoulder. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Flavio wasn’t sure if he could after learning everything that he did. But he’ll try.

“Thanks for what?” a familiar voice questioned behind Flavio.

And Flavio inwardly groaned, his shoulders slumping in defeat. It had not been his day, has it? Of course Fafnir would be waiting at the entrance of the inn for him to return and hear the end of their conversation.

“Ok, Faf? First you promise me you won’t go all protective of me…”


	8. Sweet Dates and Tender Moments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairings: Axel/Lynus, Fafnir/Flavio
> 
> Prompt: Tumblr Anon - "How about a cute date at Regina's restirant/cafe with a Cease The Suffering pairing of your choice?"
> 
> AN: Just a quick interlude before returning to the main plotline :3

The restaurant was starting to become more popular with the locals and explorers of High Lagaard, thankfully. It wasn’t easy to get passed the lower wards’ suspicions that the restaurant had something to do with the reduced funding to the hospital, but with the Guardian Guild’s help, they had managed to prove to them that they were just a simple restaurant trying to get by.

It was late afternoon, early evening, but customers were steadily streaming in. Regina wasn’t run off her feet or anything like that, but she was constantly busy in the kitchen. A busy chef is better than an idle chef. That was what Regina believed, anyway.

While the library guild relaxed in the background, coming to Regina’s aid should she ever need it, Flavio couldn’t help but get more involved. Could help but help out, as they say. Checking on the patrons, taking their orders, taking their empty dishes, informing Regina what they had ordered. Bertrand and Regina had both joked once that maybe he should hang up his explorer’s badge and become a waiter.

Never going to happen. But Flavio wasn’t going to sit idly by when he could be doing something helpful and constructive. Doing absolutely nothing was something he just couldn’t do.

As he moved from the kitchen after returning some dirty dishes to be washed, Flavio heard the little bell positioned above the door to alert for customers chime softly. He automatically turned to look, ready to greet whoever was there with a polite smile when he paused for a moment. However, a genuine smile soon appeared on his lips when he recognised the two potential customers.

“Lynus, Axel, welcome,” he greeted and quickly made his way over to them.

With his orange hair out of his usual ponytail and around his shoulders, Lynus looked somewhat different than Flavio was used to. He was also wearing a woollen cardigan that appeared a size too big for him over a simple t-shirt and comfortable pants. Always next to him, Axel wore something similar but had on a jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his powerful forearms. They both appeared comfortable and relaxed, which was rare for the two these days, being members of a heavily relied on guild.

Fidgeting with his sleeves of his cardigan, Lynus smiled. “Hello, Flavio.”

With one hand gently touching Lynus’ back, Axel gave Flavio a curt wave with the other. “Hey.”

“Hm? You look slightly different without your medical coat and with your hair out,” Flavio couldn’t help but comment to Lynus, earning himself a soft laugh from the tangerine head.

“To be honest, I feel slightly awkward,” he said as he reached up with his hand to touch a strand of his hair before curling it absentmindedly behind his ear.

Flavio smiled at him before tilting his head to the side in curiosity. “Are you guys passing by?”

“Actually, no,” Axel answered. “We’re looking for a table for two.”

“Ah, you’re dining in?” Oh, good! No one from the Guardian Guild had been able to find the time for a dine-in at any restaurant or café.

“If you’re not too busy,” Lynus said politely as he folded his hands in front of him, clasping them together in an almost fidgeting manner.

Axel rolled his eyes, but there was an expression of fondness and tenderness on his face nonetheless. Funnily enough, it was an expression that Flavio had seen Fafnir wear a few times.

“Even if they were, we’re still eating here,” Axel said as his hand slid around Lynus’ back to rest on his shoulder, subtly pulling him closer toward him. “Because somebody neglected their own health and passed out while at work this morning.”

“W-what?!” Flavio immediately spluttered and turned his full attention toward the medic.

“I didn’t pass out,” Lynus adamantly insisted with a light flush to his cheeks. “I just had a vertigo spell, that’s all.”

“What kind of vertigo spell? Did you black out?” Oh, sure, Flavio himself had experienced the two on separate occasions himself, but he was allowed to worry about others, ok?

“I’m fine, really,” Lynus said as he raised his hands in a pacifying and calming manner. “Don’t worry. I’ve been resting all day.”

Lynus then tilted his head back slightly to glance up at Axel, an expression that could only be described as pure fondness on his face. “Axel wouldn’t let me do anything else.”

Axel spend a moment gazing back down at Lynus, a small smile on his lips as he curled his arm around Lynus’ shoulders tighter, pulling him closer. Lynus made a soft sound, almost like a laugh as he pressed himself against Axel’s side, his hand moving up to rest against his chest.

They looked…

“I’m pretty sure you can imagine the fuss he’s been receiving,” Axel said as he abruptly turned his attention back to Flavio, Lynus resting comfortably against his side. “I’m actually hoping to get him away from that for a little bit, while also making sure Lynus here gets something wholesome to eat. And somewhere peaceful, too. I’m not in the mood to get into a bar fight tonight.”

Flavio had to laugh. He had heard many a tale of Axel ending bar-fights. He had even witnessed the redhead shutting one down mere seconds after it started by yelling for the brawlers to ‘sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up’. It was actually quite funny watching the brawlers scurry away to do as they were told.

“You’ve come to the right place then. There have been no punch ups yet. You never know, though.” Flavio turned and motioned for the two to follow him. “Come on, I’ll show you to your seats.”

“Ah, thank you,” Lynus said as he momentarily moved away from Axel only to take his hand in his and tug him along beside him. “Busy evening?”

“Steady, but quiet,” Flavio answered as he glanced over his shoulder, noticing that Lynus’ and Axel’s hands were still clutching each other’s tightly, their fingers interlocked. He also noticed that while Lynus had his attention upon him, Axel had his attention elsewhere. It wasn’t until he made a quick salute type greeting did Flavio realise that Fafnir, too, had noticed their presence.

He didn’t wander over, though, instead seemingly content to rest against the bar area of the restaurant with a drink and talk with Bertrand.

Deciding not to think any more on it, Flavio led Lynus and Axel to a quiet corner of the restaurant, to a small square table consisting of two chairs. It was quite an intimate corner, really, with the window toward the entrance of the labyrinth and the low illumination of the candles. As he opened the window a crack to let in some fresh air, he watched as Axel pulled out a seat for Lynus to sit down before grabbing the other chair and pulling it around so they were sitting side by side rather than face to face with a table between them.

Flavio felt a slight twinge of envy. They were so…Ugh, adorable.

Once Axel and Lynus had settled themselves into their seats, Flavio return to his usual caretaker mode. “Now, what can I get the two of you?”

Lynus turned to look up at him with a slightly apologetic expression on his face. “Sorry, this is our first time here, so we don’t know the menu.”

“I could recommend a few things,” Flavio replied with an understanding look. “Any style in particular?”

“Anything light for me would be fine,” Lynus answered after a moment of thought before he winced slightly, his hand slipping from the table to seemingly touch his stomach. “I honestly don’t think I can handle anything too heavy at the moment.”

Axel immediately looked over at Lynus in concern and made a dismissive motion with his hand. “Don’t worry about me,” he said.

Lynus, of course, snapped his head up and turned to the redhead, a slight frown on his lips. “No, you’ve got to eat too. I won’t eat if you don’t.”

“Fine, fine,” Axel said in a pacifying manner before he turned his attention to Flavio. “Don’t go to any great lengths for me. Anything with venison will do.”

Lynus sighed softly and shook his head slightly, almost in exasperation, before he, too, turned to regard Flavio. “He’s a meat man,” he said with a smile. “So if you could get him something with a lot of meat, that would be great. Don’t worry about the cost.”

Ah, a meat lover, huh? Chloe should be able to recommend the perfect dish, then.

“Ok. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Flavio promised before he turned on his heel and headed for the kitchen.

Flavio spent a few minutes speaking with Regina and the others about what to serve and after a bit of back and forth, decided on two meals that weren’t, er, unique to look at. Something simple, but delicious nonetheless.

As per usual, it didn’t take Regina long to cook up the two different meals, balancing the process so that the two would be ready to be delivered at the same time.

Placing the two dishes upon a serving tray, Flavio made his way back into the open area of the restaurant.

In his absence, he noticed that Axel and Lynus had somehow moved closer to each other, if that was even possible. Axel had one arm leaning against the table as the other rested on the back of Lynus’ chair. Lynus had his folded arms atop of the table, but he was leaning forward slightly in his seat, in Axel’s direction. Axel then said something to bring a bright smile to Lynus’ face and they both leaned forward and…rested their foreheads together.

They looked so, ah, cosy that Flavio was reluctant to interrupt them, but he also didn’t want their food to get cold. So he swallowed back his envy and approached the two.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Flavio said as he placed the plates down upon the table in front of them, mildly noting that Lynus and Axel didn’t immediately spring apart like a couple of teenagers who had just been caught doing something romantic. They just pulled away from each other and leaned back into their seats, completely unconcerned that Flavio had interrupted them.

To have that kind of confidence and affection…

Flavio shook his head slightly and returned his focus to the task at hand. “Here, Forest Deer Sukiyaki for Axel and Boar Tonjiru for Lynus.”

In all honesty, Flavio was thinking of something a little lighter for Lynus, something that didn’t have meat products, but Fafnir insisted that this dish would be fine.

Lynus glanced down at his plate before idly glancing over at Axel’s, a force of habit that all caretakers picked up. The need to ensure that others had adequate food and they had enough was something Flavio understood all too well. How could one enjoy their own meal if the other didn’t have enough?

“Good, you’ve got vegetables, too,” Lynus commented idly, more to himself though.

Axel arched an eyebrow at him. “I’ve been domesticated. I eat my vegetables,” he said before he gave Lynus a pointed look. “You’re the one who needs to eat more meat. Think of your iron levels.”

A wry smile appeared on Lynus’ lips as he peered at Axel from the corner of his eye and reached for a napkin. “I can do without your Dr Stiles impression, thank you.”

Hm? Dr Stiles? Wasn’t that…?

Axel smirked and tilted his head in Flavio’s direction. “Head doctor at the hospital. Adores the shit out of him, so is always fussing over him,” he explained before suddenly reaching forward with his hand and placing it atop of Lynus’. “Not that you can blame him.”

Lynus glanced down at their joined hands before looking up and directly at Axel. The gentleness, the softness in his eyes…

“I’ll leave you two in peace,” Flavio managed to utter without stuttering. “Shout if you need anything else.”

Lynus gave him a grateful smile. “We’ll be fine, thank you.”

Flavio returned the smile before he quickly turned on his heel again and walked away.

As Flavio placed the serving tray onto the bar of the restaurant, Fafnir unexpectedly snared him by the elbow and pulled him toward him, practically pressing him against his side. “Don’t go fussing,” he said sternly to him.

Flavio gave him a slightly indignant look. “I’m not fussing,” he insisted and slid himself upon the chair pulled up close next to Fafnir.

Fafnir gave him an annoyingly sceptical look before motioning with a tilt of his head in the direction behind him. “Look, they’re fine. Almost looks like they’re on a date.”

Flavio was somewhat amused to realise that he wasn’t the only one who thought so and turned to look anyway. “…It does, doesn’t it?” he muttered, unable to help but feel a little wistful.

He wasn’t necessarily feeling jealous. Maybe a bit pensive? Honestly, how could he not? How could anyone who looked at Axel and Lynus when they were together and not feel a sense of envy? They were sharing their food. Feeding each other. Talking softly, pausing every now again to either take a bite to eat or to simply look at each other.

They were so comfortable around each other. So much in love. They didn’t seem to have a care in the world. Not when they were together. It was like there was literally no one else in the restaurant but them.

Flavio abruptly turned his gaze away from them, feeling his cheeks heat up when it appeared as if the two were leaning in for a kiss.

Fafnir suddenly nudged him, causing him to turn toward him with a curious look. “You all right?” he unexpectedly asked.

Flavio gave him a shaky smile. “Ah, maybe I’m a little bit envious,” he confessed softly, inwardly grateful that it was just him and Fafnir sitting at the bar together.

“About?” Fafnir prodded for him to continue.

Flavio risked a glance over his shoulder to witness Axel curling a strand of Lynus’ hair behind his ear, his touch all too tender. “…They’re very sweet together,” he murmured. “I guess I, well, would like to experience something like that, too.”

He finished that last part quickly, slightly mortified at his boldness to actually say it aloud.

Fafnir was silent for a moment, as if trying to process what he had heard. “Why don’t you?” he surprisingly asked.

“W-wha?” Flavio spluttered as he spun around to face him, no doubt that his cheeks were a deep red from embarrassment. “As if I could! Not when…”

Unbothered by his reaction, Fafnir leaned against the bar and tapped his fingers in a contemplative way. “I suppose it would be awkward in our own restaurant, wouldn’t it? Maybe we could try another one.”

Flavio openly stared at him, his mouth dropping open slightly as the words slowly rattled through his head. “W-we?”

Fafnir said nothing, instead reaching out with his hand to gently touch Flavio’s, his fingers brushing over the back of his hand before moving to cover it completely with his own. Flavio’s reaction was immediately and instinctive; he opened his fingers slightly, allowing for Fafnir to slip his own fingers between his, interlocking their hands tightly together.

Abruptly looking away out of pure embarrassment, Flavio could feel himself blushing up a storm and his heart was beating rapidly in his chest, and yet…he felt a sense of comfort wash over him. Maybe it was relief? Whatever it was, it made him instantly feel more peaceful. So much so that Flavio leaned to the side and rested his head against Fafnir’s shoulder, Fafnir responding by resting his head atop of his, sitting in such a way that they were blocking out the rest of the restaurant.

It didn’t matter who saw them, right? It was none of their business what they were doing. Besides, everyone else was lost in their own littler worlds.

Let them have their own tender moment.


	9. The Highlander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since meeting the Guardian Guild, Flavio has met some interesting characters. This highlander, however, was just a little too…forward for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to introduce some new Guardian members :3

Flavio leaned back in his chair and looked down at his hands folded in his lap. The other members of his guild, plus Regina, sat silently at the table they had gathered around. The silence was uncomfortable, but it was understandable.

He had just finished telling them what he had learnt from the Guardians’ leader, Hamza. About how many of the locals and explorers alike seemed to resent the existence of the restaurant. About how he was cornered by a group of disgruntled locals. And, in hindsight, how said locals looked malnourished and pale, unlikely to be able to do anything physical to him anyway.

Fafnir, of course, bristled protectively during that last part, but said nothing. Hopefully he wasn’t plotting revenge or something. Like, of course not. He wouldn’t do that, right?

In any case, Flavio had decided not to mention the suggestion that Hamza had offered him. Not yet. He wasn’t sure that was even possible. And would the people of Lagaard actually want it from them? Would they think it was just pity money or an attempt to win praise and popularity?

A business wasn’t a business unless it was making money. And a business couldn’t make money without customers. And the customers needed a reason to visit said business to spend their hard earned money.

It was just so…depressing. Flavio had no idea that running a restaurant would be so much hard work emotionally and mentally.

Everyone was pulled from their silent musings when the door to the restaurant swung open almost violently, sending the sign that said ‘sorry, we’re closed’ flailing about from the force.

Startled greatly, Flavio jumped in his seat before he spun around to look. He managed to catch a glimpse of a very tall blond-haired man. He had to be over six-feet tall and carried a spear that was as longer than he was tall. His long blond haired reached past his shoulders, a few shorter strands curtaining over his face with two braids on either side.

He appeared to be a highlander, one of a small handful that was seen around town. However, Flavio hadn’t seen this particular man before. And by the reactions of his teammates - tense and wary - they hadn’t seen him either.

“Awight, I’m looking for the laddie they call Flavio!” the man unexpectedly bellowed with a foreign dialect, causing Flavio to jump in his seat again, surprised by how loud his voice was. It practically made the windows rattle!

“Ah, th-that’s me?” Flavio found himself stuttering in response, somewhat fearful by why the loud man was looking for him and what he could want from him.

Surprisingly, a wide and friendly grin appeared on the tall man’s face and he strode fearlessly over to them. “There yer are laddie,” he said before he shoved rolled up papers toward him. “Got yer a gift from Lynnie-boy.”

“Lynnie?” Flavio mumbled dumbly as his automatically grabbed at whatever the other man was giving to him. He glanced down and quickly unfurled the roll, immediately noticing that the words and format they were written in was familiar.

Recipes? Oh, Auspice’s recipes!

“Ah, well, th-thank you,” Flavio said as he looked back up at the towering man, feeling intensely uneasy by how…intensely the highlander was looking at him.

“Well, ain’t yer a skinny little runt?” the man abruptly (and rudely, in Flavio’s opinion) commented with a wide grin of pure amusement. “Aye, yer do have the cheeks of a chipmunk!”

Flavio immediately bristled wildly and unintentionally crumpled up the recipes in his hands as he glared at the tall highlander. “Did you just call me-?”

Flavio was abruptly silenced when the man lifted his hands and…poked Flavio’s cheeks with his index fingers, causing Flavio’s lips to form a pout. “W-what are you-?”

The man continued to poke Flavio’s cheeks a few times before unexpectedly pinching them between his thumbs and forefingers. “They’re the pudgiest thing about yer.”

“My cheeks aren’t pudgy!” Flavio tried to glare at the infuriating man, but it was difficult when someone was painfully pulling at your cheeks.

In fact, the glare seemed to only amuse him further and he released a bellowing laugh. “Yer a spritely one, ain’t yer!”

W-who the hell was this man? And why was he being so…forward?!

“Jeez, Zeryn, you have the voice of a foghorn,” an unexpectedly familiar voice suddenly stated, causing Flavio to blink and for the blond-haired man to glance over in the direction of the entrance. “Is there no indoor volume for you?”

The highlander, who must be named Zeryn, smiled apologetically as a familiar redhead, followed by two blonds and a large white tiger, strode into the restaurant through the open front entrance.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said in a barely apologetic manner as he continued to pinch Flavio’s cheeks with his fingers. “Ain’t he a wee bit cute?”

Axel rolled his eyes in an exasperated manner and folded his arms tightly over his chest. Jhon, Tobyn, and Chi-hung lingered back, seemingly satisfied with Axel handling the situation.

“You should probably let him go,” Axel said as he indicated to their right with the tilt of his head. “If you want to keep all your teeth, that is.”

“Hm?” Zeryn blinked before turning his attention to the right side where Fafnir was standing, all but seething in his own skin. If not for Bertrand holding him back with his arms and Arianna trying to sooth him with her words, Flavio was certain that Fafnir would have launched himself at the highlander.

Honestly? Flavio wouldn’t try too hard to break up the fight if that did happen.

Zeryn, however, laughed in an obnoxiously light-hearted way. “Naw, yer mop-head, don’t go getting crabby.”

Fafnir’s eye twitched violently as Bertrand grimaced, subtly readjusting his hold on him. “What did you just call me?”

Less than intimidated, Zeryn mercifully released Flavio’s cheeks, prompting Flavio to lurch back away from him and rub at his painful cheeks. Regina and Chloe looked at him, the first with pure confusion and disgruntled disbelief, the other with idly curiosity while she continued to eat whatever meat she could get her grubby little hands on.

That jerk! That hurt. He didn’t have pudgy cheeks…And he didn’t look like a chipmunk!

“Anyway,” Zeryn said in a dismissive manner as he turned to his attention to the red-haired landsknecht. “I withstood yer punch, Reddie. I kin handle whatever he throws at me.”

Axel didn’t exactly look impressed. “Only because I wasn’t using full strength,” he retorted idly.

Having calmed down enough for Bertrand to relinquish his hold on him, the protector returning to his drink and tugging Arianna back to her seat, Fafnir also turned to the redhead. “You punched him?” he asked.

“During our first meeting,” Axel explained with a careless shrug of his shoulder. “He picked Lynus up like he was some kind of cute forest creature. Of course I punched him.”

“What would you do if I punched him?” Fafnir suddenly asked in all seriousness.

Axel gave him a look stating that he really couldn’t care less. “Give you constructive criticism on your technique?”

Zeryn was the one to actually laugh aloud at that answer. If was almost like he was looking forward to it…Highlanders, honestly.

Oh, Lynus must be Lynnie that Zeryn had mentioned earlier. But what did Axel mean by ‘picked him up’?

Flavio must have asked that aloud as Zeryn suddenly spun around to face him once more, that wide and honestly quite unnerving grin of sheer amusement on his face.

“Like this!” he said as he…grabbed Flavio around the waist and hoisted him effortlessly into the air, high off the ground!

“Wah!” Flavio immediately yelled in surprise and fear as he placed his hands on Zeryn’s arms to wiggle his way out of his grip. “P-put me down!”

“Yer squirming is cute!” Zeryn commented, completely and utterly unfazed by his attempts to escape. “And yer so light! Not as light as Lynnie, but yer close!”

“No wonder Axel punched you!” Flavio continued to flail, mostly because he didn’t know what else to do! “I’m tempted to punch you myself!”

“Naw, yer arms are too short to reach me!”

“S-shut up!”

Zeryn unexpectedly curled his fingers on his left side a little tighter to compensate for his squirming, the motion causing a light laugh to bubble up from Flavio’s throat. C-crap, he was ticklish on that side…

Unfortunately, Zeryn noticed. “Eh? Are you ticklish, Flavie?” he mercilessly asked.

Flavio broke out into a cold sweat. “N-no!”

And, equally unfortunate, Zeryn didn’t believe him. “Really?”

“P-put me down, y-you bastard!” Flavio spluttered around his laughter as Zeryn ruthlessly began to tickle him while still holding him up off the floor. “S-stop it!”

“Get ready with that constructive criticism,” he heard Fafnir snarled menacingly.  
   
“Please, he doesn’t mean any harm,” Jhon, the blond-haired protector of the Guardians tried to pacify. “Really.”

Axel, however, sighed loudly. He had one arm across his chest as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his other hand. “Zeryn, drop him,” he commanded rather calmly.

Zeryn made a noise of disappointment, but thankfully did as he was ordered and placed Flavio back on his feet. “Aw, fine.”

Flavio clutched at his stomach with one hand as he wheezed, trying to get his breathing under control as he wiped at the tears that had been pooling at the corner of his eyes. He soon found himself on the receiving end of two rather sympathetically gazes.

Jhon offered him a truly apologetic smile. “Unfortunately, now that he knows, he’ll use it against you whenever he can.”

Flavio twitched. That wasn’t a very thrilling thought…And he was so tall and strong, there was nothing he could do about it!

“He’s the complete opposite of Shen,” Tobyn, the blond-haired survivalist told him. “He’s not afraid to openly ‘praise’ whoever or whatever he finds cute.”

Honestly, he’d rather deal with the stoic ronin than Zeryn. “Should I be flattered?”

Tobyn gave him a pointed look. “Terrified.”

“Ok, good. I’m already there,” Flavio muttered as he drew in a deep breath and pulled himself into a standing position.

He glanced over at Fafnir, finding his friend speaking with Axel, the landsknecht seemingly trying to explain to Fafnir who or what Zeryn was. And Chi-hung was next to Zeryn, batting him lightly with his paw, almost as if he was telling him off. And Zeryn seemed oblivious to it all.

Either that, or he simply didn’t care.

“Friend of yours?” Flavio asked, as he turned his attention back to the two blonds.

“Teammate,” Tobyn answered sharply, sounding rather annoyed.

“One of the newest, actually,” Jhon explained with a polite smile. “He’s a friend of Hamza’s, sometimes to the man’s chagrin, and he allowed Zeryn to become a member mostly so he could keep an eye on him.”

“Someone needed to watch him,” Flavio murmured under his breath as he rubbed his cheek idly. “Say, how many members are there of your guild anyway?”

“Hm?” Jhon gave him a curious look. “Keep bumping into us?”

“Well, yeah, actually.”

Jhon chuckled softly, but sincerely before tapping his cheek in thought. “Well, there’s two more. There’s Mahogany. He’s a hexer that Lynus has stumbled across unconscious multiple times, and after learning that he suffers greatly from sudden visions, Hamza allowed him to enter our guild in hopes that Lynus could help him.”

“He still continues to scare the life out of Lynus by fainting abruptly,” Tobyn seemed unable to stop himself from adding.

Flavio immediately felt sorry for the medic. “Well, that would probably scare anyone…”

“Lastly, there’s Topaz,” Jhon continued. “He’s…a scholar interested in the myths and legends concerning relics and weapons. He’s quite knowledgeable in regards to weaponry. He’s also interested in healing, which prompted him to seek out Lynus and he became a member by default.”

Flavio tilted his head to the side in question. “A scholar?” Just a scholar? No class?

“He doesn’t want his lineage to be known,” Jhon added with a knowing smile, but unwilling to explain further.

Flavio didn’t quite understand, but, “Oh, ok.”

Tobyn suddenly nudged Jhon’s leg with his foot, drawing his attention. “We also have a member-in-rest.”

“Ah, yes, of course,” Jhon said with a smile. “Cedric, the spryly troubadour. He’s a good friend of Hamza’s,” for some reason Tobyn snorted softly at that, prompting a small smile from Jhon as he continued. “And has been recovering from a debilitating illness that has lasted seven years, I’m afraid.”

“Illness?” For seven years? What kind of illness could last that long?

Jhon sent him an apologetic look. “Ah, personal story. Only guild members and the head doctor at the hospital know.”

“I wasn’t trying to intrude,” Flavio immediately replied, not wanting to be seen as rude or intrusive. He was just…

“It’s fine,” Jhon said in a dismissive manner, still smiling politely before he cast a glance over in Tobyn’s direction. “A survivalist’s curiosity is a powerful thing, isn’t it?”

Tobyn ducked his chin toward his scarf to hide off the flush on his cheeks and glared at Jhon in return. However, he didn’t say anything to refute what he had said.

“Anyway, we need to get going,” Axel suddenly commanded, lashing out a foot to kick at Zeryn’s leg. “We’ve got a few errands.”

Undaunted by the kick to the leg, Zeryn seemed suddenly eager to leave. “Aye, need to gather some food.”

“Food?” Flavio repeated as he furrowed his brow in light confusion. However, his expression lightened when he remembered what he had learnt yesterday about the hospital. “Oh, are you opening up another soup kitchen?”

Turning his attention toward him, Axel nodded his head as a small smile appeared on his lips. “Yeah, for the south ward this time. We only ever have enough food and staff for one ward at a time.”

Flavio was about to ask for more details, about how often these soup kitchens take place and what was needed to run them when a sound of surprise and confusion was uttered by someone behind him. Suddenly feeling uneasy, Flavio turned to see Regina pushing herself to her feet and glancing (well, glaring if you took her neutral expression the wrong way) at Axel and the others.

“Soup kitchen?” she repeated. “But there are plenty of places to eat. There’s no excuse not to have food.”

Flavio immediately winced and tried to shush the blonde-haired chef. “Ah, R-Regina…”

Slowly, Axel turned his attention to Regina as well and seemed to peer at her through one eye, his left unexpectedly closing. “There’s a lot of impoverish families around Lagaard,” he said, his tone quite levelled yet firm. “If they can’t afford to buy food themselves, what makes you think they can afford to go to a restaurant? Maybe you should head out once in a while and actually look around.”

Regina immediately appeared flustered by his response. “W-what-?”

“No offense, but you are a chef, not a cook,” Jhon went on to say in a pacifying manner, but his polite expression seemed quite strained. “Chefs value presentation and individuality, right? Cooks are for when you need to cook in bulk and serve people filling and nutritious food quickly and in a short amount of time. Ah, but you are welcome to visit the hospital and see for yourself.”

“But the food is for those who can’t afford to buy anything themselves,” Tobyn reminded. “It’s wholesome, not pretty. It might be startling to see.”

Startling to see? Oh, did…did he mean by how many people relied on the soup kitchen and the hospital?

“Anyway, the hospital has it covered,” Axel abruptly said as he turned around and headed to the exit, his guildmates right behind him. “Running a restaurant isn’t easy, either.”

“Aye, dun worry yer cute little head, Flavie,” Zeryn suddenly added in a surprisingly reassuring way. “Yer got yer own mission to attend to.”

Jhon motioned for Tobyn and Chi-hung to walk out first before glancing back at them and offering them an apologetic polite smile once more. “Sorry for intruding and not buying anything, but we really need to get going.”

Axel waved an idle hand over his shoulder. “See you back at the inn.”

“Take care!” Flavio called back.

As soon as the five of them left through the front door, a deafening silence fell over the restaurant once more. But this time it was…The whole thing was…

Well, it was awkward all round, wasn’t it?

Did…did the Guardians resent the restaurant, too? No, that couldn’t be right. They wouldn’t be so nice if they did, right?

“W-who the hell was that?” Regina asked, breaking the silence.

Flavio couldn’t help but wince lightly. While Regina’s face was passively-aggressive as usual, there was no hiding the soft sense of hurt (and confusion) in her tone.

“They are members of the Guardians Guild,” Flavio explained to her. “They’re really popular around town and mostly do search and rescues in the labyrinth. They also work closely with the hospital, and are really quite friendly once you get to know them.”

“You seem to get along with them so well, Sir Flavio,” Arianna surprisingly commented as she folded her hands elegantly in front of her and smile softly in Flavio’s direction. “Of course, it is of no surprise.”

“Yeah, well, they’re all really nice,” Flavio insisted.

And fun as well, he had to admit. His guildmates should try to interact with them as well. It would be good for them!

“Flavio.”

“Hm?” Flavio was concerned by the worry on Fafnir’s face.

Fafnir looked him straight in the eyes, his expression serious. “Stay away from that highlander.”

Flavio deadpanned at him. That was what he was worried about? Oh, sure, that worry had merit and all…

“Believe me, I’ll try.”

And…thank you, for not changing, Fafnir.


	10. Friendly Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flavio was taking the restaurant’s reputation to heart. Fafnir hopes that a few of the members of the Guardian Guild can ease his concerns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would have had this chapter up earlier but my knee locked up again and the pain medication makes it hard to concentrate. Also, this chapter took on a life of its own! I guess I’m just having too much fun having Flavio and Fafnir interact with my CtS characters that I’m going overboard? Meh.

Fafnir leaned against the doorframe leading into Flavio’s room and folded his arms across his chest. Flavio was at his desk, his arms folded atop of the table with his chin resting on his arms as he gazed out the window. He had a look of contemplation on his face as he chewed on his bottom lip.

He had been like that since that incident at the restaurant with the members of the Guardian Guild. He seemed to have taken their terse response to Regina as resentment, although Fafnir felt that it was more exhaustion and frustration at the lack of support for the lower wards than any personal vendetta against the restaurant itself.

“You’re taking this to heart,” Fafnir said as he pushed away from the doorframe and walked into the room.

“I can’t help it,” Flavio said with a sigh as he lifted his chin up off his arms to look over at Fafnir. “It’s not just about the restaurant. It’s…”

“You want to help those people,” Fafnir confidentially finished for him.

Despite his dearie mood, the corner of Flavio’s mouth twitched into a half grin. “Yeah.”

While Fafnir wasn’t at all surprised that Flavio felt that way, he also knew how difficult it would be for him to see the truth. They may have grown up in an orphanage and with the Midgard Library, but their lives were surprisingly sheltered. They’ve never had to deal with such things before.

He also didn’t have it in him to tell Flavio that he couldn’t help everyone. That wouldn’t stop him from opening his heart to others, anyway.

Flavio sighed softly as he placed his hands upon his desk and pushed himself to his feet. “I need to go for a walk.”

“I’m going with you this time,” Fafnir immediately said.

A small smile appeared on Flavio’s lips and he nodded his head, as if he had expected Fafnir to say such a thing. “Ok.”

As they both left Flavio’s room, Fafnir reached for his sword, patting the handle idle from where it was holstered by his side. After the incident with the ragelopes entering into town, Fafnir had taken up the habit of always carrying his sword with him, even if it’s just to the corner store and back. He also wanted to keep it handy for intimidation purposes should anyone else try to corner Flavio again.

They walked in silence through the busy streets of the shopping district, Flavio lost in his own thoughts and Fafnir idly gazing at their surroundings. He made sure to keep an eye on Flavio, needing to take him by the elbow and pulling him back to avoid being shouldered by a passer-by several times. Although he didn’t mind watching out for Flavio, earning that cute half smile of an apology, he just wished that Flavio wouldn’t walk about without paying attention. There were honestly quite a few people, locals and explorers alike, who were constantly looking for a fight, and would take any excuse to attack someone.

Fafnir felt himself frown when he grabbed Flavio by the elbow and pulled him against his side once again when a man, probably about their age with long dark blue hair and bright blue eyes brushed against him, propelled there by someone bumping into him. He brushed against Flavio’s shoulder, staggered slightly as he kept a firm grip on shopping bag he was holding against his chest.

Straightening himself, the man paused in his steps and sent Flavio a politely apologetic look. He wore golden armour and a long cape that had a regal feel to it, yet Fafnir wasn’t entirely sure what class the man was. The armour he wore was unlike that of a protector or landsknecht.

“Oh, my apologies,” the man said as he dipped his head forward slightly.

“It’s fine,” Flavio immediately replied just as politely with a friendly smile. “No harm done.”

The man smiled in return and appeared as if he was about to excuse himself when his gaze fell upon Fafnir. Or rather, on the grip that Fafnir had on Flavio’s elbow, and he tightened it out of habit.

“Is that a Katzbalger?”

Fafnir was subtly taken aback by the question. What was he-? Oh, he was actually looking at his sword? Arching an eyebrow at the man, Fafnir removed his grip on Flavio’s arm to instead grasp onto the hilt of his sword, exposing half of it from the sheath.

Strangely, the man’s eyes practically lit up and he leaned forward to get a better look. “The fluorite gemstones and the steel beaks are of high quality,” he mumbled. “Easily increasing attack strength by 67 percent. The craftsmanship is truly remarkable. Ah, must be the work of Thompson Sitoth.”

“Ere, Topaz,” a new but somewhat familiar voice suddenly griped causing the blue-haired man to abruptly pull away as if he just realised what he was doing. He turned to look behind him and Fafnir looked also looked, out of curiosity more so than anything else.

Standing just a few feet away, their arms full of shopping bags of their own was a certain brown-haired gunner and a certain blond-haired alchemist. Macerio and Magnus of the Guardian Guild, if Fafnir was not mistaken. Although they had no formally met, he knew about them from Flavio.

“You're acting weird again,” Macerio continued, looking and sounding disgruntled.

The man that must be named Topaz blushed darkly. “O-oh, my apologies,” he said again, but sounding far more flustered than previously.

“No, it's fine,” Flavio said once again, but with a slight sense of amusement in his voice while Fafnir simply nodded his head in response.

“Sorry about Topaz, yeah?” Macerio said as he turned his attention to Flavio and readjusted the hold on his shopping bag. “New to this guild and exploring thing, so he gets carried away sometimes.”

Topaz looked over at Macerio, mildly indignant, yet made no attempt to verbally respond. His blush remained as he moved to stand beside Magnus, the alchemist patting him on the shoulder in a comforting manner.

“It’s fine, really. And it’s nice to meet you,” Flavio said in a reassuring manner once more before he suddenly made a sound of realisation and glanced over at Fafnir. “Oh, right, you guys haven’t formally met yet.”

Fafnir simply nodded his head once and Flavio smiled widely at him before returned his focus back to the three members of the Guardian guild.

“Hey, this is Fafnir,” Flavio introduced, gently tapping his knuckles against Fafnir’s chest. “Fafnir, this is Macerio and Magnus from the Guardians Guild.”

“H-hello,” Magnus murmured shyly in response and clutched his belongings closer against his chest as he ducked his chin deeper into the red scarf around his neck. “O-oh, you’re the o-one I bumped into the other d-day…I’m so sorry.”

“No harm done,” Fafnir replied with a hopefully reassuring smile, which only prompted the blond to squeak and try to nuzzle his face deeper into his scarf. He hoped that was a good reaction. He didn’t fancy encountering that protective ronin again.

“Hey,” Macerio suddenly piped up with a wide grin on his lips. “Are you the one that Cass doesn’t want befriending Axel because of he’s afraid you would team up for a bar fight?”

Fafnir’s grin twitched into a smirk. “That’s me.”

If at all possible, the gunner’s smile widened. “Heh, awesome. Totally can’t wait to see you in a fight.”

Fafnir arched an eyebrow. He also remembered Cass mentioning something about a shit-stirring gunner. The one in front of him must be the one he was complaining about.

Flavio sent Fafnir a bemused look before he turned his focus upon the blue-haired man again. “Topaz, right? You seem to know a lot about weapons.”

“Oh, thank you,” Topaz replied, his expression brightening. “But I am just a scholar. I don’t know the true fundamentals when it comes to battles. And truth be told, I'm far more interested in learning more of the seven legendary weapons.”

Flavio tilted his head to the side in both question and curiosity. “Seven-?”

Macerio suddenly made a cut-off motion with his hand. “Don't ask,” he hissed through his teeth. “You'll be here for hours.”

“O-oh, ok,” Flavio stuttered before he cleared his throat. “So, ah, t-that’s a lot of glass bottles you’re carrying. Restocking your explorer kits, I guess?”

“T-they’re not for us,” Magnus answered. “They’re for the treasure chests for the first stratum of the labyrinth.”

Fafnir furrowed his brow slightly in confusion as Flavio tilted his head to the side once more. “Treasure chests?” he questioned.

“We’re restocking them,” Topaz was the one to answer this time. “It’s important to give explorers and adventurers an incentive to keep returning and to keep them safe. Many, though, do not like handouts due to pride, so we like to maintain the treasure chests found in numerous locations around the labyrinth.”

“Yeah,” Macerio said as he eagerly nodded his head. “After all the fighting and trekking about, it’s important to get a reward every now and again, right?”

“Happy explorers mean happy locals who rely on explorers,” Magnus added with a small smile on his lips.

Flavio openly stared at them for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words. “That’s…really amazing,” he finally murmured.

Fafnir was content to stand back and watch silently as Flavio interacted with the members of the Guardian Guild. Flavio had always been far more outgoing than he had, and was able to approach and become friends with just about anyone.

Truly, Flavio would thrive being a member of a much larger guild. A guild that wasn't...bogged down by curses or roles of destiny...a guild much like that of the Guardians.

Fafnir silently slipped his right hand behind him, out of view, when the back of his hand twitched from the powerful scar. He ignored it, though, maintaining a passive expression on his face.

“Usually, the guards do this,” Topaz continued as he readjusted his shopping bundle once more. “But they have been quite busy preparing the city for Lady Gadiel’s upcoming birthday. Which is in a month’s time.”

Macerio unexpectedly released a sharp snort of annoyance. “Preparing simply means prettying up the city for the celebrations without actually fixing anything,” he muttered, his resentment quite potent.

“Shhh,” Magnus whispered to him, but that only prompted Macerio to lift his nose higher into the air, looking defiant.

“We’ve heard about that,” Flavio said, his voice surprisingly soft. “About Lady’s Gadiel’s birthday, I mean.”

Surprisingly, Topaz chuckled. “I suspect that all restaurant owners are eagerly awaiting the festivities.”

Fafnir sighed while Flavio winced. “Ah, well…” he murmured.

Topaz tilted his head to the side. “Is there something troubling you?”

“Oh no, it’s nothing,” Flavio said, seemingly not wanting to bother those in front of them with his concerns before he sighed and shook his head slightly. “It’s just…the restaurant doesn’t have the best reputation.”

A look of understanding immediately appeared on Topaz’s face and he nodded his head. “Oh, I see.”

Fafnir folded his arms around his chest and gave the blue-haired man a pointed look. “You don’t sound surprised.”

Macerio gave him a nonchalant one shoulder shrug. “Yeah, well, we’ve heard a bit about the restaurant.”

Next to him, Magnus nodded his head softly. “They say the chef there is really cold and scary.”

While Flavio winced again, Fafnir held his chin in thought. Well, they couldn’t really dispute that. By first appearances Regina could be. Fafnir himself had to ask if she was angry about something the first time they met, so it was easy to understand the hesitancy to approach Regina and her restaurant. She wasn’t antisocial or rude by any means; she just preferred cooking over the interaction of people, whom of which she didn’t really know how to interact with.

…Ok, so she might be somewhat anti-social.

“Looking for ways to improve customer quantity?” Topaz suddenly asked, pulling Fafnir from his thoughts.

Fafnir nodded his head as he dropped his arm across his chest again. “Yeah.”

“Hamza suggested possible town restoration,” Flavio added as he fidgeted slightly on his feet. “But I don’t think we can handle that yet.”

“Yes, I understand,” Topaz said with a sincere smile on his lips. “It’s a bit daunting, although it would benefit you greatly. Perhaps something simpler? What about visiting different wards and asking them what it is they would like to sample?”

“I don’t think that would do any good,” Macerio butted in before Flavio or Fafnir had the chance to consider the suggestion. “You’re going to need to give them a reason to want to spend their cash at a restaurant run by a noble.”

“That’s true,” Topaz said as a slight frown appeared on his lips and he turned his attention Macerio. “Although, having a noble take interest in the wards and using her status to aide them would benefit everyone.”

“You’re still going to have to get past their suspicions,” Macerio retorted swiftly before a look of contemplation crossed his features. “What about donating to the hospital?”

Topaz, however, shook his head. “Monetary donations would be appreciated, but they need customers to make that money first. Ingredient donations wouldn’t be any good, either.”

Macerio tilted his head back and groaned loudly in frustration. “Look, I don’t know, ok? I’m not an entrepreneur.”

They fell into a pensive silence before Magnus cleared his throat, gaining their attention. “What about grimoire stones?”

Flavio turned to the alchemist and blinked in confusion. “What about them?”

Magnus appeared as if he wanted to hide away into his scarf, but wanted to continue nonetheless. “Um, w-why don't you trade them or something?” he murmured.

“Yes, that might work,” Topaz said, perking up significantly. “You see, the Stickleback Bar is the only place in High Lagaard that allows for explorers to take requests and for the locals to issue said requests. While it’s true that Cass is often thinking of quick ways to make money, he has never failed in issuing out rewards for the successful completion of quests. He has earned a reputation of being honest with the rewards and for issuing out quests to those he knows and trusts. If your restaurant allows for the exchanging of grimoire stones, quality stones, it will give another incentive for explorers to visit.”

Flavio pursed his lips together in silence for a moment before he turned toward Fafnir. “Do you think that would work?” he asked softly, sounding hopeful.

Fafnir didn’t see the harm in trying. “We have plenty of grimoire stones of our own. It should work.”

“Why don’t you try with that first and see where that takes you?” Topaz suggested before he gave them a pessimistic look. “Of course, you’re still going to need to help your chef overcome her reputation of being scary.”

Flavio sighed, his shoulders drooping forward with fatigue. “That…might take a bit of work.”

Still, Fafnir could see that Flavio was hopeful; looking the brightest he’s been since learning of the restaurant failing reputation.

“Just one last question,” Flavio suddenly requested as he straightened his posture to his full height. He, however, looked slightly nervous. “Do you, well, do you guys resent the restaurant?”

The three members of the Guardian Guild looked momentarily startled. “What makes you ask that?” Topaz asked.

“It's just I'm never seen you guys there,” Flavio blurted out before flushing lightly with embarrassment. “Sorry, I'm jumping to conclusions.”

“It's not that we hate the restaurant,” Magnus said with a shake of his head before an expression of discomfort appeared on his face. “It's...”

“We literally don't have the time to visit,” Macerio finished bluntly, looking surprisingly haggard.

“O-oh?” Flavio stuttered, looking and sounding surprised. “Fair enough, I guess.”

Fafnir was glad that Flavio had actually asked the Guardians that question as it had been plaguing him for hours now, and had received a blunt and honest answer in return. One less thing for that mother-hen to worry about. Fafnir was sure that Flavio would tell him how relieved he was about the answer later, probably tonight before going to bed.

There was one more thing Fafnir hoped he could get cleared up. “Is it because of the hospital’s funding?”

Topaz shifted his gaze over to Fafnir and seemed to inwardly debate on how he should answer his question. Or maybe he was trying to gauge what Fafnir was really asking about. About whether or not the restaurant was responsible for the lack of funding. No one had said as much, but Fafnir was pretty sure it had been implied by a few of the locals and explorers. Some would think that it was too coincidental that the restaurant would appear around the same time the hospital’s funding had been slashed.

“Oh no, not that I assure you,” Topaz said after a moment. “As you may know, the Guardian Guild is known mostly for search and rescue, and for aiding the hospital. Two important tasks, correct? I'm sure you can appreciate how much effort the two require.”

Flavio folded his arms behind his back as he shifted awkwardly on his feet. “The hospital's funding has been reduced, though, right?”

Topaz gave a slight shake of his head. “I'm afraid we cannot answer that question. You'll have to ask Lynus. He would know more.”

“Speaking of Lynus,” Macerio suddenly chimed in, quickly changing the topic of conversation. “He wants to talk to you, Flavio.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he wants to apologise for sending Zeryn after you,” Macerio replied with a mischievous grin. “He didn't mean to. He was actually asking Tobyn to deliver the recipes when Zeryn butted in and decided that 'Flavio' was a cute name, so must belong to a cute person.”

Fafnir felt his eye twitch at the mentioning of that highlander. The fact that he was right about Flavio’s name belonging to a cute person was irrelevant. If he holstered Flavio into the air and tickled him one more time…

“That man lives in a world all of his own, doesn't he?” Flavio stated more so than asked.

Macerio smiled again and Fafnir couldn’t help but get the feeling that the gunner was either plotting something or was pleased that the highlander had turned his attention to someone else. Both, most likely; using Flavio as a distraction so that he could escape himself.

Fafnir better keep an eye on this trouble-maker.

“Anyway, Lynus is at the hospital now, though,” Macerio continued. “He was needed for a code blue. We don't know when he'll be back.”

“Code blue?”

“Hospital talk for a medical emergency,” Macerio explained before he crinkled his nose in discomfort. “Like, you know, loss of limbs or the heart having stopped, that sort of thing. The patient near death, in other words.”

Fafnir couldn’t help but wince. He was glad he wasn’t a healer. Having to deal with the bloody aftermath of an exploration gone wrong would rip the heart out of a lesser man. Or make them highly cynical and detached. But from what had seen and heard; Lynus was still empathetic and kind to everyone.

That was just the nature of a medic, he supposed.

“Oh, I see,” Flavio said before looking curious. “Does he get called in often?”

“Oh yes,” Topaz quickly replied, soundings surprisingly proud for some reason. “Lynus is what the head doctor at the hospitals calls a High Level Healer. He’s an excellent teacher, too.”

“Really?!” Flavio gaped, genuinely impressed. “That's amazing. But he’s so young.”

“H-he’s been healing for over ten years,” Magnus explained.

“R-really?”

Topaz suddenly glanced up at the sky above them, a frown tugging at his lips. “Well, you must excuse us for now,” he said.

“Yeah,” Macerio said as he motioned to the shopping bags in his arms. “We need to take these items back to the inn where we need to figure out which chests to put them in. It’s not easy as just putting them in the first chest we come across.”

“S-see you back at the inn,” Magnus said as he and Macerio turned in the direction of the inn, Macerio taking the lead with Magnus a step or so behind him.

“Thank you for talking to us,” Flavio said to Topaz before he turned to leave as well. “Really.”

Topaz smiled warmly at him. “Always happy to help,” he said before he turned to catch up with his guildmates.

Flavio watched until the three were out of sight before he turned his attention to Fafnir. “Hey, Faf, I think we should try the grimoire idea first,” he said as a small smile crept upon his lips. “I think it could work.”

Fafnir nodded his head. Anything to keep that smile on Flavio’s face.

“It’s a start,” he said as he placed an arm around Flavio’s shoulders and prodded him along. “Let’s head back to the restaurant.”


	11. A Typical Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bertrand meets some of the Guardians only for things to turn slightly strange due to a fainting hexer.

Bertrand didn’t exactly like mornings. It wasn’t that he hated them. He honestly didn’t mind getting up early. It was the act of waking up early and crawling out of bed in the morning that he disliked. The bed was warm and soft, after all.

Flavio was usually the first up while Bertrand was the last (hey, he liked sleep in all its forms), so he had to make the conscious effort to get up out of bed the moment he awoke from his sleep. It wasn’t easy, mind, but he consoled himself by telling him it was just for this one morning and he can sleep in again tomorrow.

He had a special reason to get up quickly this morning, however.

After what had happened at the restaurant, after seeing how well Flavio and even Fafnir got along with this Guardian Guild, Bertrand thought he should at least make the effort and meet them as well.

He had heard all about the Guardians from numerous people; Cass, Hanna, Abigail just to name a few. So, he could say that he was slightly curious himself.

Flavio really liked them, and seemed to get along with them well, which is hardly a surprise. The kid could make friends with a fence post. But it was Fafnir’s interest in them and in Flavio’s interaction with said guild that really caught Bertrand attention.

He doesn’t want to make assumptions, yet alone voice them, but it almost felt as if Fafnir was encouraging Flavio to get deeper involved with the Guardians…for just in case something happened to him.

Of course, he could just be jumping to conclusions. Maybe he just felt a sense of kinship with this guild. Anything was possible.

As Bertrand descended the stairs, he could hear laughter and voices from the direction of the dining room. He quickly entered and was somewhat startled to realise that one of the voices was familiar. In the far corner of the room, Flavio was leaning against a window frame as he spoke with a small group of explorers. A redhead with his feet up on the table they were gathered around, a blonde sitting cross-legged on a chair at the far end of the table, and a brown-haired kid that stood in front of the table and seemed to be talking animatedly.

While it was unsurprising to see Flavio chatting with other explorers, Bertrand could honestly say that he had never witnessed the kid laugh so…freely before. He was usually on edge and tense, busy looking out for everyone else while maintaining that fake smile of his. But he seemed comfortable and relaxed around them.

They must be members from the Guardian Guild.

Flavio idly glanced over in his direction, seemingly just looking around as was habit to survivalists before he abruptly did a double take. “Bertrand?” he said, surprise clearly in his voice and posture. “You’re up early.”

Bertrand resisted the urge to roll his eyes; instead he folded his arms across his chest and walked over to him. “Happens occasionally. Before you start, there’s nothing wrong.”

Flavio flushed a light pink and tried to glare at him. “I wasn’t implying there was.”

“Sure kid.”

The kid tried to scowl at him, but honestly it came out as nothing more than a disgruntled pout. His expression abruptly lightened, however, into a look of realisation. “Oh, right, you haven’t met,” he muttered before abruptly launching into a quick introduction. “This is Bertrand, my guildmate. These guys are some of the members of the Guardian Guild. Axel, Tobyn, and Macerio.”

“Hey, how you doing?” Bertrand said as the three returned short greetings of their own. A few ‘nice to meetcha’ and whatnots. The usual stuff, though they did sound somehow sincere.

He recognised some of the names and faces, though. The one with the long blond hair was the survivalist who killed that fire drake with one arrow and the brown-haired kid was often seen hanging around at the bar, laughing at the drunken fools. The redhead was also seen at the bar, mostly breaking up the fights, though.

Before they could return to their conversation, however, a tall blond quickly made their way over to them, seemingly making a beeline for the redhead. Bertrand also recognised him as being the protector they had met in the labyrinth the same day they met the silent survivalist. His name was Jhon, if he wasn’t mistaken.

“Hey, Axel,” he called out as he paused near Axel. “Just ran into Benedick.”

Axel lolled his head back and released a low, disgruntle groan. “Not that obnoxious dick. What did he want?”

Jhon pulled out a chair between Axel and Tobyn and quickly sat down. “He was actually looking for Rahas.”

“Good,” Axel muttered as he stretched his legs out on the table. “He can have him.”

“Who’s Benedick?” Flavio was comfortable enough around them to ask. “Do I want to know?”

“Benedick Richardson the Third,” Jhon explained before a wry smile appeared on his lips. “Or something to that extent. We just call him Dick for short.”

Axel snorted lightly, seeming irritated by the mere thought of this Benedick person. “Green hair, four foot tall, claims to be a prince of a faraway land,” he continued. “Obnoxious little shit. Met him on the first floor where he completely lost his shit about the ragelopes. All because they neighed like a horse.”

“Yeah!” Macerio piped up, the brown-haired kid all but cackling. “He was all ‘Deer don’t neigh! That’s poor evolution! They should be ashamed of themselves!’”

Flavio laughed, honestly sounding amused. “Ashamed of themselves?”

“He was ranting and raving like a lunatic,” Jhon explained as he rolled his eyes, but with a small smile on his lips nonetheless. “We thought he had been hit by a baffling step. Lynus tried to use refresh on him, but he turned pale and told us he’s actually perfectly fine and was completely serious.”

“He's completely right,” Tobyn unexpectedly added as he reached forward to pick up his coffee mug from the table. “If you disregard the fact that the ragelopes are over seven feet tall, have purple fur, and live in a giant fucking tree.”

Bertrand felt a smirk play on his lips. Their blatant sarcasm and scepticism was surprisingly refreshing.

“If you’re over seven feet tall and can kill a man with one strike, you have the right to sound like whatever the fuck you want,” Axel commented which caused a few chuckles to arise from the group.

“Macerio wanted to shoot him,” Jhon added, indicating toward the grinning gunner with the tilt of his head. “I think we all wanted him to, actually.”

Flavio folded his arms across his torso in an attempt to quell his chuckling. “He doesn’t want to go to the second floor then.”

A half smirk appeared on Axel’s lips. “The dinosaurs or the flowers that spit fire at you? He’s fine with those, apparently. It was a deer neighing like a horse that sent him over the edge. You gotta draw the line somewhere.”

Flavio was openly laughing at his point.

“The little fuckers know exactly what they’re doing,” Axel muttered under his breath.

Tobyn nodded his head as he took a sip from his coffee. He then glanced over at Flavio and abruptly lowered his drink. “Sound like a horse and leave prints like a horse? Non-explorers would think it’s a horse and then proceed to get the shit kicked out of them,” he explained.

Flavio immediately made a sound of understanding. “I never thought of it that way,” he admitted before he held his chin in thought, probably making the mental note to add that new information to his own monster codex.

“Morning, everyone.”

“Morning, Lynus!” Everyone greeted loudly as a short young man with orange hair and donning a white medic coat walked over to them.

Ah, so this guy is the famous Miracle Medic, huh? Bertrand had to admit that he was somewhat surprised by how young he looked, but he knew that one didn’t earn such a nickname without just cause. Especially in this city. He had to have earned it through hard work and dedication.

“Oh Flavio? I am so sorry,” Lynus suddenly said as he reached out to lightly touch Flavio on the arm. “I didn’t mean to send Zeryn after you.”

“No no, it’s fine,” Flavio immediately replied with a reassuring smile. “Not your fault. I’m sure I would have bumped into him anyway, right?”

Lynus chuckled. “He would have found you eventually, I’m sure.”

“Anyway, this is Bertrand, my guildmate,” Flavio promptly introduced, even going as far as reaching out to light tap Bertrand on the chest. “Old man, this is Lynus.”

“Hey,” Bertrand said simply, while Lynus smiled politely in return.

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

Lynus’ gaze suddenly flickered down to Bertrand’s right arm and he furrowed his brow. Out of habit, Bertrand folded his arms across his chest, taking on a slightly defensive posture. Lynus turned his eyes toward Bertrand’s before he abruptly winced and looked away, seemingly turning his focus back toward Flavio.

Bertrand idly wiggled the fingers of his right hand. There was no doubt that the kid had sensed something…off about his arm. From his reaction, he knew that it wasn’t an injury. Bertrand was pretty sure he would have asked if it was healing properly.

There was suddenly the sound of a thud behind them. The sound was rather distinct, like that of a body hitting the ground suddenly. Either someone tripped, falling so quickly that they weren’t able to soften their landing, or someone had fainted.

Lynus immediately whirled around in the direction of the sound, his expression passive but with concern in his eyes nonetheless. He, however, unexpectedly sighed softly, sounding somewhat exasperated.

“Sorry, excuse me,” Lynus said as he quickly departed from the group.

Curious, Bertrand glanced over to find Lynus kneeling on the floor next to a body covered in torn maroon robes and gold chains. A hexer, by appearance, their long white hair sprawled out across the ground. It appeared that they had literally just dropped to the ground, their face hitting the floor.

“Let me guess,” Flavio unexpectedly said. “He’s name is Mahogany?”

“Pfft,” Macerio half snorted, half laughed. “That’s him. Does that way too often. Can’t take him anywhere.”

“Don’t be rude,” Jhon chided the gunner. “He’s under medical treatment now.”

Macerio held up in hands in a pacifying manner and sighed. “Right, right,” he muttered.

Under medical treatment, huh? That must mean that the guy dropping to the ground suddenly had been happening for a while now. Well, that was actually pretty obvious; no one seemed overly concerned when they saw him lying face down on the floor.

Idly glancing over at the hexer, Bertrand noticed that Lynus had gotten him up off the floor, Mahogany resting on his knees. Lynus appeared to be asking a multitude of questions, no doubt about what was hurt, what kind of mental sensation he was going through. The typical questions that a medic would ask.

“How you doing, Mahogany?” Axel called out. “Another vision?”

Climbing to his feet, Mahogany shook his head, carefully patting down his greyish white hair with his hands. He didn’t appear to be like regular hexers. If the strange curse makers could be considered ‘regular’ by any stretch of the imagination. In any case, most hexers preferred to rely on their psychic and magical abilities to move and lift up objects, keeping their limps within the confines of their robes and cloaks. Mahogany, however, had his sandal covered feet firmly on the ground and was willing using his hands, running his fingers through his hair.

“I’m fine,” Mahogany replied as he trailed his fingertips idly over the red hair band around his forehead. His piercing red eyes suddenly landed on Bertrand and they seemed to narrow suspiciously. “My collapse was due in part by that man.”

Bertrand was taken aback, but he tried not to show it outwardly. He simply stared back at the hexer, even though his gaze was unnerving.

“Bertrand?” Flavio questioned, his tone heavy with confusion but also with a sense of concern. “What do you mean?”

Mahogany made no attempt to verbally respond, he kept his firm gaze focused on Bertrand. It was like he…knew something about him. As if he could see all his problems, knew of all his secrets.

Damn…it was intimidating, to be completely honest.

“What?” Macerio muttered, seemingly trying to break the tension that hung in the air like a storm cloud. “Enthralled by his rugged good looks?”

Bertrand turned and gave the brown-haired gunner a half amused, half indignant look. “You are a sarcastic brat, aren’t you?”

The grin that Macerio sent him told him all he needed to know. He really needed to keep an eye on that kid. He looked like the walking definition of a shit-stirrer.

“No,” Mahogany responded quickly, but surprisingly not all that harshly. “He should be dead.”

Everyone lapsed into silence.

“Mahogany!” Lynus spluttered before he reached out and firmly took Mahogany by the elbow. “Sorry, excuse us.”

Lynus then abruptly pulled Mahogany out of the room, the hexer giving Bertrand one last knowing look before he disappeared from sight.

…Well, that was certainly something.

“That’s hexers for you,” Axel suddenly commented, sounding and even looking completely unfazed and unconcerned by what he had just witnessed. “A class of their own, all right.”

Flavio, unfortunately (especially for Bertrand himself), looked genuinely worried. “Does…does he say things like that often?” he asked as he glanced at Bertrand from the corner of his eye.

Everyone answered at the same time, their expressions bland. “Yes.”

…Well, that was somewhat reassuring. For Flavio at least, the tension in his shoulders relaxing a little, seemingly satisfied by the Guardians’ dismissiveness of the hexer’s sudden accusation.

Bertrand, however, was suspicious. That medic, Lynus wasn’t it, kept looking at his arm and had ushered off the hexer a little too quickly. He knew something. That much was certain.

He might have to find the medic later and ask him about it. Or maybe it was best to leave it hanging for a while?

…Tch, as if he didn’t have enough drama going on.


	12. Unique Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First an argumentative dark hunter, next a gleefully drunk troubadour, then an airheaded hexer telling him he should be dead? Fafnir had to admit, the Guardian guild had some interesting members…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear God, I am having so much fun with this series~

Fafnir followed Flavio down the stairs to the foyer of the inn. After a long day of trekking through the labyrinth, they were heading out to get something to eat at the restaurant. Arianna, Bertrand, and Chloe had already set out, while Fafnir and Flavio made a quick stop to the inn to drop off their explorer kits and other essentials into their rooms.

As they reached the bottom step of the stairs, Flavio suddenly paused, his posture somewhat irritated. First, Fafnir wondered if he had forgotten something and was annoyed at himself, but after a quick glance around, a habit he had picked up from being inside the labyrinth, his gaze fell upon a figure that was slinking their way to the front entrance.

With his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slumped forward, and a scowl on his face, Fafnir somewhat recognised him. White hair, maroon clothing, and dark skin. He was that dark hunter from the other night. The night he overheard shouting outside his window. Rahas or something.

Glancing over at Flavio, Fafnir realised that he appeared to be inwardly struggling with something. A comment was on the tip of his tongue and he was battling with himself to keep it there and not say anything. From the twitch of his eyebrow, though, he couldn’t contain himself any longer.

“Learned how to use doors, have you, Squirrel?”

Rahas bristled comically as he spun around and glared at Flavio through one eye, the other hidden behind white hair that had been pedantically styled in place. He drew in a sharp intake of air through his noise, appearing ready to yell a response back before he seemed to calm himself and slowly stalk toward them. “Hey, Chipmunk, you do know that half the town now knows you have pudgy cheeks?”

“I do not have pudgy cheeks!”

“And I’m not a fucking squirrel!”

Fafnir stayed quiet as the two immediately began to bicker and insult each other. He had to admit that he was somewhat amusing watching Flavio get into a childish insulting match with another. He could be wonderfully insulting when he was particularly annoyed by someone or something.

Glancing over the dark hunter’s shoulder, Fafnir’s eyes immediately fell upon the figure of someone else. Silver hair and green eyes. A troubadour by appearance. And he appeared to be silently creeping up behind Rahas.

Fafnir arched a questioning eyebrow when the silver-haired troubadour lifted a finger to his lips, motioning for him to be quiet. Curious, Fafnir remained silent, watching with a growing sense of amusement as the other man slowly snuck up behind Rahas, who of which was still bickering with Flavio.

The troubadour suddenly sprung forward and threw his arms around Rahas in an overly exuberant hug, causing the dark hunter to release a loud, high-pitch shriek of surprise and indignity. So loud was his wail of surprise that even Flavio jumped back in surprise, his back hitting Fafnir square in the chest.

With a smirk of amusement playing on his lips, Fafnir wrapped an arm around Flavio’s waist and took a step back, pulling Flavio with him. He was content for now to watch the troubadour interact with the dark hunter. Obviously, he knew him, so it was a safe bet that he was either a good friend to the Guardian Guild or was yet another member.

“How’s my favourite emo brat?” the troubadour asked cheerfully as he rubbed his cheek against Rahas’.

“Cedric, what the fuck?!” Rahas shrilled as he immediately began to struggle to push the other away. Yet, despite how desperate he seemed to be to put distance between them, he was ensuring that his flailing limbs didn’t harm the other in any way. “You’re drunk again?!”

The troubadour, Cedric, pouted childishly as he released his hold around him. “So rude,” he said before he quickly perked up again and looked over in Fafnir and Flavio’s direction. “Who are your new friends?”

“They’re not friends,” Rahas replied gruffly before a half smirk appeared on his lips as he glanced over at Flavio. “But that’s Chipmunk and his kinky boyfriend.”

Fafnir narrowed his eyes fearsomely at the dark hunter while he tightened his arm around Flavio’s waist when he felt him bristled wildly. He placed his hands on Fafnir’s arm and leaned forward, as if he wanted to pull himself out of Fafnir’s grip and launch himself at that smirking dark hunter.

“The name is Flavio,” he said as he narrowed his eyes. But, surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly), he appeared flustered. “And Fafnir is not…kinky.”

Cedric continued to smile in a blissful, drunken manner, while Rahas sent Flavio a purely sceptical look. “You didn’t deny he was your boyfriend,” he suddenly commented.

Flavio blushed darkly. “I was getting to that!” he insisted, his hands tightening around Fafnir’s arms as if just realising that Fafnir was indeed holding him around the wait with a single arm. “W-we’re just friends.”

Fafnir couldn’t help but allow a sense of annoyance to appear in his chest. The wording of ‘just friends’ seemed to piss him off greatly. But he pushed it aside. It was…probably for the best, after all.

_“Friends?”_ Rahas repeated with his expression and tone now highly sceptical. “There’s a lot of these _friendships_ going round.”

With his cheeks still sporting a dusting of light red, Flavio opened his mouth to give the other man a retort of some kind, but was interrupted when Cedric laughed cheerfully once more.

“Nice to meet you,” Cedric said. “You can call me Cedric. That’s my name, anyway. I’m Hamza’s childhood friend.”

Cedric then giggled. It wasn’t a chuckle. It wasn’t a soft laugh. It was a giggle. Fafnir had never heard a grown man giggle like that before. He was quite…well-oiled, wasn’t he?

Rahas gruffly folded his arms over his chest as he turned to face the silver-haired troubadour. “Just what is your relationship with Hamza, anyway?” he suddenly asked, appearing as if that question had been bugging him for a while.

It was as if…he just wanted someone to admit that, yes, they were indeed in a relationship. Yet there was also a sense of wanting to know just so…he could avoid that shit? This dark hunter was rather full of contradictions, wasn’t he?

“Hm…” Cedric thought for a moment before he cheerfully clapped his hands together in front of him. “You can call me grandma!”

Rahas immediately bristled. “I ain’t calling you shit!”

Cedric continued to smile. “No need to yell, grandma can hear you just fine.”

“Shut up!” Rahas hissed through seemingly clenched teeth before he folded his arms over his chest. “You shouldn’t be drinking in your condition, anyway.”

Cedric tutted lightly, even going as far as to wag his finger at him. “Rahas, dear,” he said in a subtly patronizing tone. “I’m fairly certain I’m not pregnant.”

Rahas immediately looked disgusted at the thought. “The hell? Fairly?”

“Well, you know…things happen,” Cedric replied and sent Rahas a wink.

“You know what, fuck it,” Rahas suddenly said as he threw his hands up in the air in frustration and turned on his heel toward the front entrance of the inn. “Go slobber over Hamza or something!”

“Don’t stay out too late, grandson,” Cedric said as he cheerfully waved him goodbye.

“Screw you!”

Flavio watched until the dark hunter was out of sight before turning his attention back to Cedric. “Is he always like that?” he asked as Fafnir loosened his hold around him a little, relaxing with the knowledge that Flavio won’t accidentally get into a fight with Rahas now.

Cedric turned to Flavio and gave him a surprisingly sad smile. “He has had a troubled start to his life. Quite dark and lonely.”

Fafnir felt a frown tug at his lips while Flavio fell silent, not sure in how to respond.

“He’s still an emo brat, though,” Cedric quickly stated, his jovial demeanour making a rapid return. “And I love picking on him.”

Flavio deadpanned at him. “I see.”

Cedric turned to face Flavio before stilling. He stared at him for a moment before he suddenly made a small motion with his hand, asking for Flavio to lean forward a tiny bit. Flavio blinked in surprise, his brow furrowing slightly, but he leaned forward nonetheless. As soon as he did, Cedric reached up and…placed his palms against Flavio’s cheeks, causing his lips to mimic that of a fish.

“They’re so soft!” Cedric exclaimed happily, unaware of the twitch of annoyance from Flavio’s eyebrow.

Fafnir felt his eyebrow twitch as well, but from protectiveness rather than annoyance. But Cedric was different from that highlander. And close to the Guardian guild. And he was drunk, as well. He appeared to be a harmless drunk. A happy one was better than an angry one.

“You are just so cute!” Cedric continued as he massaged Flavio’s cheeks dramatically. “Full pouty lips, dreamy blue eyes, wavy dark hair; I hope your boyfriend is protective or you’ll get eaten up in no time!”

Well…Fafnir couldn’t argue with that. And he had a point. Hm…

“W-what does that mean?” Flavio spluttered.

“Cedric, I think you should let Flavio go now,” a familiar voice chided slightly.

Cedric immediately dropped his hands from Flavio’s cheeks and spun around. He then uttered a noise of pure delight when he saw a certain orange-haired medic that was no more than a foot behind him and he flung his arms around him in a hug.

“Lynus, love,” Cedric said as he nuzzled his cheek against Lynus’, much like had done with Rahas, but Lynus wasn’t struggling like said dark hunter had. He was compliant, as if he had endured this display of affection numerous times already. “I was looking for you, but got distracted by the softest cheeks I think I’ve ever seen.”

“Why is everyone so obsessed with my cheeks…?” Flavio was heard muttering to himself as he idly rubbed his cheeks.

…As long as they stay obsessed with the cheeks on his face.

Lynus chuckled as he patted Cedric on the back and turned to look over at Flavio with a softly empathetic expression on his face. “Sorry about Cedric. I keep telling him not to drink too much.”

“I’ve only had a couple of drinks,” Cedric immediately insisted with a pout as he pulled away from Lynus, but kept his hands on his shoulders not the less.

Lynus smiled indulgently at him. “Of what and what size were these drinks?”

“Oh, the usual,” Cedric replied in a dismissive manner before his pout became, well, poutier when Lynus continued to smile knowingly at him. “Don’t give me that look. Let grandma have his happy juice. Honestly, kids these days.”

“Cedric,” Lynus said kindly as he took Cedric by the elbow. “You’re thirty-three.”

“An ancient compared to kids these days.”

“Now, now. You’re young at heart.”

Cedric sniffed before he muttered, “Just not young at lungs…”

Lynus gently squeezed Cedric’s elbow. “We’re getting there,” he whispered.

Cedric looked down at the hand gripping his elbow before looking back up at Lynus, a soft, sincere smile on his lips. “We are.”

As Fafnir watched the two, he suddenly realised that though he had had a few encounters with the Guardian Guild, he had never actually spoken to the most beloved member.

A loud noise, like that of something, or someone, hitting the ground quickly caused the four of them to jump slightly in surprise. A frown immediately made its way upon Fafnir’s lips as he turned to look behind him, where the sound seemed to have resonated from. And what he saw was…a person, from appearance. Faded maroon tattered robes, golden chains, and long washout white hair. A hexer, probably. And they were lying face down in the middle of the stairwell. As if they had tripped on the bottom step and fell…up the stairs?

“Mahogany?” Lynus said with a tone of concern as he hurried over to him, Cedric right behind him. He walked up a couple of steps before sighing as he crouched down near the beginning to move form. “Not again. How in the world did you fall _up_ the stairs?”

Slowly, with help from Lynus, the hexer pushed himself to his knees, before twisting slightly to sit himself upon the steps. He clutched at his head as Lynus gently brushed back his hair, whispering questions to him, earning a nod every now and again. Lynus was concerned for the other’s welfare, but he wasn’t overly worried. In fact, it seemed as though Mahogany dropping to the ground suddenly had happened numerous times before.

Snapping his head up, Mahogany suddenly turned his attention directly at Fafnir, his red eyes boring into his. Though his gaze wasn’t fierce, nor did it hold any ill-intent, Fafnir felt a surprising sense of unease form in the pit of his stomach. It was as if…Mahogany knew something about him that he, himself, refused to admit.

“Don’t say it…” Flavio unexpectedly whispered softly.

Fafnir was puzzled and wondered what Flavio was referring to when he hexer said something that both puzzled and startled him.

“You should be dead, too.”

Fafnir heard Flavio draw in a sharp intake of air while Lynus visibly winced. “Mahogany…”

“Yes, yes,” Cedric suddenly said, flapping his hand dismissively at the hexer. “And I should have died twice over, I know.”

“Come on, you two,” Lynus said as he helped guide Mahogany to his feet before abruptly snaring his wrist with his left hand while his right hand moved to instinctively take Cedric’s, the troubadour all but beaming from the touch. “Let’s go sit in the tea room for a while.”

Mahogany tilted his head to the side as Lynus began to pull him along. “Do you need to hold my hand?”

Lynus turned around to face him, giving him a rather pointed, no-nonsense look. “After seeing you walk into the same wall three times today; yes. Yes, I do.”

Three times? How could you walk into the same wall three times? And that was just today?

Wait…maybe that would explain the strange thud he heard outside his room last night. He had chalked it up to an explorer stumbling drunk into the inn late last night. Maybe it was this airhead?

“Excuse us,” Lynus said as he turned his attention back to Fafnir and Flavio, granting them both an apologetic smile. “You’re welcome to visit us in the tearoom, though.”

“Hm, we’ll catch you later,” Flavio said with a smile of his own, yet he appeared…distracted.

Lynus gave Flavio a look, one that was somehow sympathetic, but knowing, before he urged Cedric and Mahogany to walk with him, the three of them moving deeper into the inn.

As soon as they were out of sight, Fafnir turned his attention to Flavio. “What happened?” he asked, not liking the way Flavio had turned pale and quiet.

“He…said the same thing to Bertrand this morning,” Flavio told him as he slowly turned his face toward him, though his gaze linger to the ground, as if not wanting Fafnir to see the uncertainty in his eyes. “Apparently he says things like that all the time. Suffers from visions or something.”

Oh…

“He walked into the same wall three times today,” Fafnir quickly reminded him as he reached out to place an arm around his shoulders to tug him against his side. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

As Flavio rested against him, he finally lifted his gaze from the floor to look at him. There was still a sense of uncertainty in his eyes. “…Yeah,” he muttered before plastering a forced smile on his lips. “Let’s head to the restaurant. The others will be wondering about us.”

“Right,” Fafnir said as he kept his arm around Flavio’s shoulder, the two of them walking from the inn.

As they silently headed in the direction of the restaurant, Fafnir tried to push the short encounter with Mahogany to the back of his mind. The words lingered, though. He knew that hexers had strange, sometimes frightening abilities. Rumours of even being able to read minds were rampant.

He couldn’t help but wonder…How much did that hexer know about him?


	13. Of Protectors and Medics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bertrand decided to speak with that medic from earlier. After he helps out a certain red-haired protector, though.

Bertrand’s curiosity about that medic from this morning was getting the best of him. He couldn’t help but wonder how much he knew about his arm. He also wondered about that hexer. True, the members of the Guardian guild claim that he said those things all the time, but that hexer clearly realised something about him was not normal. And the medic, Lynus, also knew.

Quietly leaving his room at the inn, Bertrand made his way down the stairs and headed in the direction of the clinic. It was late in the evening so most explorers should have retired for the night or were still drinking it up at the bar. That meant that he should, in theory at least, be able to have a quick word with Lynus at the clinic. If he was even there, that was.

As Bertrand headed toward the clinic at the inn, he found his pace slowing slightly when a familiar redheaded protector was seen.

He was dressed in casual clothes; black pants with a long sleeved white shirt underneath a dark blue short-sleeved t-shirt. Bertrand had to admit that he was a little surprised by how different Hrothgar looked without his armour. He was lean, not overly muscular and seemed to have great posture.

Bertand couldn’t help but muse about what the protector’s many admirers must think of him in casual clothing. He was undoubtedly good looking. Bertrand couldn’t deny that.

After saying a few words to whoever was inside the room, Hrothgar turned to walk away. However, his expression brightened considerably when he recognised him. “Oh, Bertrand, good evening.”

“Evening,” Bertrand returned the greeting easily before he glanced over at the door Hrothgar just walked out of and back to the protector in front of him. He couldn’t help but feel a little bit of concern as the door Hrothgar had just walked out of was the clinic. He wasn’t hurt, was he?

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Bertrand spied thick supportive bandages adorning Hrothgar’s right hand and wrist.

“You're injured?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

Hrothgar’s first reaction was to hide his right arm behind his back and smile sheepishly. “Only a minor sprain. Nothing to worry about.”

Bertrand didn’t believe him. He knew of the other man’s habit of keeping his troubles to himself. “Let me see.”

Hrothgar looked surprised, his mouth dropping open a tiny bit as his eyes widened a mere fraction. He, however, surprisingly blushed a moment later and hesitantly pulled his arm from behind his back and lifted it toward Bertrand.

Honestly, the other man’s reaction was kinda cute.

The white bandages around his wrist were thick and supportive. Obviously, he wasn’t just a minor sprain. “A sprain that still hurts, right?”

“It'll settle down in a day or so,” Hrothgar insisted as he pulled back his hand, only to wince when he did so.

Bertrand studied him for a moment before he folded his arms across his chest. “How did this happen?”

Hrothgar gave an exasperated sigh as he subconsciously cradled his wrist against his chest. “Rookies these days are so reckless. I had to literally grab one by the scruff of the neck and throw them into a short cut to escape a raptor.”

Honestly, Bertrand couldn’t say he was all that surprised.

“Lynus assures me that nothing is broken or damaged,” Hrothgar continued with a smile on his lips. “And he hasn’t been wrong yet.”

It was hardly a surprise that Hrothgar knew of Lynus. “The Miracle Medic, huh? He's quite popular.”

“Yes, and for good reason, really,” Horthgar said, his expression and voice holding a sense of fondness. “He's very talented with healing in all its forms. He's also very considerate by not asking too many personal questions. Though, one can't help but open up to him.”

“Yeah?”

"Aye, Hrothgar!"

Hrothgar about jumped a foot into the air in surprise and fright at the shouting of his name. He didn't turn around to see who it was, though; he immediately and skittishly lunged forward to hide behind Bertrand. He grasped at the back of his shirt with his hands as he peered over his shoulder.

Also startled by the man's reaction, Bertrand glanced at Hrothgar before turning to face forward. He immediately understood the red-head's reaction when the form of a somewhat familiar blond-haired highlander appeared before them, grinning an obnoxiously amused grin.

From Hrothgar's reaction, and the way he was cutely huddled against his back, his forehead pressed against his shoulder blades as he tried to keep himself as hidden as possible, it was easy to assume that Zeryn found Hrothgar to be adorable as well. Not that anyone could blame him.

Bertrand sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “Not today,” he said as he stayed in front of Hrothgar. “Small injury. You’ll piss off your medic teammate if you do anything.”

“Aye, I know,” Zeryn said as he continued to grin. “Just gonna check on him as he’s too damn cute for his own good, aye? But he seems to have found a bodyguard to hide behind. Yer up to the task of fending off his admirers?”

Bertrand hoped that he was being a sarcastic smartass and not insinuating that there were some people who would take advantage of an injured Hrothgar.

…Ok, that thought really pissed him off.

“N-nothing of the sort. Bertrand and I were just talking,” Hrothgar said as he peeked (adorably) over Bertrand’s shoulder.

Zeryn’s grin seemed to grow a tad wider for some reason as he looked (down) at Bertrand. “Bertrand, aye?” he repeated.

Bertrand arched an eyebrow and made no attempt to response.

The highlander, however, didn’t seem to care as his gaze flickered back to the cowering protector behind him. “And yer Hrothgar. So that means…”

Bertrand wasn’t sure he wanted to know what Zeryn was going to say next, but Hrothgar seemed curious. “Which means what?”

“Hrotrand!” Zeryn unexpectedly exclaimed.

Bertrand was rendered speechless for a moment before the gears in his heads started to turn, registering what the highlander had just said. “Did you just-?”

“Ere, Binah!” Zeryn suddenly called out as he turned on his heel and walked away from them, not bothering to utter a ‘see ya’ or anything. “Found yer another couple.”

“What?” came a high-pitched, feminine voice before a pink-haired girl dressed in the clothes of a troubadour skidded out from one of the rooms to stand unafraid in front of Zeryn. “Where?”

Zeryn jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “Hrothgar and Bertrand.”

The girl, Binah, immediately glanced over in their direction and stared at them for a good solid minute before a grin (a mischievous one at that) slipped across her lips. “Really now?” she muttered as she held her chin. “How interesting...”

Behind him, Bertrand felt Hrothgar wince. “...Shit.”

Having never heard the staunch protector curse before, Bertrand was instantly curious and cautious. “Do I want to know?”

Still huddled against his back, Hrothgar began to reluctantly explain. “She's, ah, the little sister of the Guardian Guild and self-proclaimed matchmaker extraordinaire.”

Well, that was somewhat terrifying.

“Is that so?” he muttered as he scratched the back of his neck, somewhat surprised at himself for not stepping away from the other man. “Jeez. Seems like we'll be seeing more of each other in the future.”

Hrothgar didn’t say a word, but he did utter a small but appealing noise of embarrassment.

...As least it'll be cute and entertaining.

“The highlander seems distracted,” Bertrand said over his shoulder. “If you make a run for it now, you’ll be able to hide in your room.”

“R-right,” Hrothgar stuttered as he pushed away from Bertrand, turned on his heel and all but fled in the direction of the stairs, heading to his room on the upper floor.

Well…the highlander was right about one thing; Hrothgar was too adorable for his own good.

Making the mental note to check up on Hrothgar later (to ensure that Zeryn was just being sarcastic), Bertrand turned his attention the doorway leading into the clinic. He knew that Lynus was in there, but he couldn’t help but feel a sense of trepidation. After all, it could be possible that the kid knew about his state of health better than he did.

Knowing about his arm was once thing. Understanding what it truly was, how he came to possess it was an entirely different matter. He couldn’t possible know that, right?

Roughly running a hand through his hair, Bertrand decided to bite the bullet and enter the room.

The clinic was bigger than he had expected. There were several cots with partisan curtains, large medical cabinets, and a kitchenette area. The beds were empty, though, and the medic in question was busy restocking the shelves, replacing empty blue bottles with filled ones from the small wooden box he carried in the crook of his arm.

Bertrand stepped further into the room and cleared his throat. They were alone. No better time than to talk.

Lynus immediately stopped what he was doing to glance over at the door way, an expectant expression on his face. However, his eyes widen a fraction when he recognised him and a look of discomfort appeared on his face.

“I am sorry about Mahogany this morning,” he abruptly said as he placed down the box he was holding onto the counter. “He suffers from visions and tends to blurt out whatever sight he has seen or experienced.”

“Nah, its fine,” Bertrand said as he slouched his shoulders and folded his arms across his chest. “He’s right, after all. And you know it, too.”

Like he had done that very morning, Lynus winced by said nothing.  
   
“You’ve been looking at my arm,” Bertrand continued, though did try to keep any accusation from his voice.

Mustn’t have worked as Lynus immediately looked apologetic. “I’m sorry,” he said as his gaze momentarily rested on his right arm before he looked away. He knew that he couldn’t pretend that he didn’t know anything.

Bertrand could tell that he wanted to look at his arm, examine it, but he was too polite to outright ask. Which was fortunate as Bertrand didn’t exactly want anyone looking at his arm, either. The unanswered request was far easier to deal with.

“Mind if I ask how you could tell?”

Lynus seemed to hesitate for a moment. “I have the ability to assess a person’s aura for abnormalities. Dark spots, as it were,” he explained before a frown tugged on his lips. “And…you have the presence of a hexer.”

Bertrand was caught off guard by that. “Hn? How so?”

“Hexers can only gain their skills after they, well, stop living,” Lynus explained as he leaned against the counter behind him, his hands clutching at the edge. “While you’re not dead, obviously, your ability to grow has stalled to a crawl. The same thing happens to hexers. Some can live for a hundred or more years. With your ability to hover between living and death, you can easily gain the abilities of a hexer yourself. Honestly, when I first saw you, I thought you were that of a hexer. Fafnir’s the same.”

Bertrand’s mind immediately began to race at all the information.

Not dead…not living. That was what the hexer meant…? He…both Lynus and Mahogany…they knew about Fafnir’s arm, too?

Bertrand was rendered speechless for a good, solid minute.

“…That’s a pretty interesting skill you have there,” he finally uttered.

Lynus anxiously curled and uncurled his hands over the edge of the counter. “It propels me to be nosy.”

“You haven’t asked what it is.”

Lynus looked sadly at his arm before he pushed away from the counter. He moved until he was a hesitant foot in front of him, his hand raised between them. Before Bertrand could ask him what he was doing, Lynus sighed and shook his head.

“It’s nothing I can fix,” he stated.

Bertrand frowned. “You sound certain.”

“Yes,” Lynus murmured softly as he grasped at the front of his shirt with his hand, the area over his heart, and took a step back. “There is absolutely nothing I can do for you. You’re heavily cursed. It can’t be removed by conventional methods. Not while you have that marking. Not while the sentient curse, the object or being of which is a vessel for the curse, the holder of the curse’ residual energy, exists. Only by destroying the curse’s origin and creator, if they still exist themselves, can you remove the curse from yourself.”

Bertrand was once again rendered speechless for a few long moments. “I see…You know a lot about curses.”

“I know a lot about removing them,” Lynus returned as a small smile made its way to his lips. “A while back we had an incident involving expelled students from the Curse Academy using Lagaard as a playground to test their cursing abilities. I had to work overtime back then.”

Bertrand nodded his head idly, still trying to process all the information he had just learnt. To think a medic could learn so much about him from a glance alone…It was a tad frightening, to be honest.

Struggling between wanting to know what else Lynus, and ultimately Mahogany, knew about him and Fafnir, and the old adage that ignorance was truly bliss, Bertrand felt a slight sense of relief when someone else stumbled into the clinic, causing the two of them to jump slightly in surprise.

“I’ll…let you get to work,” Bertrand quickly said as he turned to leave.

“One more thing,” Lynus called out to him, pulling him to a stop. “Mahogany mentioned something to me. About how sacrifices will only lead to pain and suffering to those who care too much. But I’m sure you wouldn’t let that happen, right?”

Bertrand didn’t try to form a response. He simply…nodded his head, face forward and walked away quickly.


	14. Protective Measures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flavio had wanted to ask Lynus about the hospital and about Mahogany. But after some creep decides to follow Lynus from the café, those questions could wait…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had this sudden urge to write Flavio and Lynus in an oneshot together. And, as per usual, this took a life of its own. Hope you enjoy reading nonetheless!

Flavio hadn’t been able to get what that hexer from the Guardian Guild had said to him yesterday out of his head. What he had said, the way he had said it, and the way Lynus winced apologetically and empathetically was something Flavio just could not brush aside. It was like…they both knew something about Fafnir and Bertrand that no one else could see.

Could they…know about Fafnir’s arm?

He supposed it wasn’t a bad thing if they did, right? Lynus was a medic; he probably noticed the abnormality of Fafnir’s arm when he first laid eyes on him. And Mahogany was a hexer and hexers were…notoriously unpredictable (some would say freaky) with their psychic abilities.

After their encounter with the hexer telling them that Fafnir should be dead, Fafnir spent the next hour or so reassuring him that the hexer had probably said the same thing to multiple people before him, and that he was obviously an airhead if he had already walked into multiple walls. And that Flavio was just over-thinking things again, as was his habit.

Flavio wanted to dispute that last comment, but he…really couldn’t. He was an over-thinker and analyser. Still a rude thing to say, nonetheless.

But it was Bertrand’s suddenly inability to look him in the eyes the next morning that was also bothering him. Flavio had heard him sneak out of his room last night and head down stairs for something. Bertrand’s room was across the hall from his and Flavio himself was still awake going through his documents, so that was why he had heard him. He had also heard when Bertrand hastily made his way back into his room.

He had asked Bertrand that morning if something happened to him last night, but Bertrand simply told him that it was nothing to worry, and to stop being such a fuss-pot.

Of course, Flavio bristled with pure indignation at the name, but Bertrand wouldn’t tell him anything more. Something obviously happened with him last night but he was unwilling to say anything about it.

…Maybe Flavio should just talk to Lynus about it? That would help to clear some things up, surely.

The sound of the little bell above the door of the café pulled Flavio from his thoughts. He lifted his head up from his folded arms where he was slouched against the breakfast bar of the café and turned his attention to the door out of idly curiosity. He sat up straight, though, in surprise when he realised that a certain orange-haired medic was standing just inside the entrance, his bag upon his shoulder and a few pieces of folded up papers in his hands.

Flavio immediately stood up and pushed away from the bar to make his way over to Lynus. He hadn’t seen him this morning at the inn and noticed that a few of his guildmates looked subtly annoyed. He wondered if something had happened to him, too. He didn’t have time to ask, though, as he was dragged to the café by Arianna as they had promised to have breakfast there with Regina instead of the inn that morning.

“Ah, Lynus? Good morning.”

“Good morning, Flavio,” Lynus greeted in return with a soft smile on his lips. “Sorry for popping in early, but I just wanted to hand these recipes over to you. They were given to the hospital by an explorer and since we don’t exactly need them, I thought they would be better off here.”

“Oh?” Flavio murmured, slightly confused as Lynus handed over the papers he had been holding. His expression lightened into realisation though when he recognised the eccentric scrawl and formatting. “Oh! They’re Auspices’ recipes. Thanks a lot; we’ve been looking for these.”

Lynus smiled kindly at him and nodded his head idly. “I’m glad I was able to give them to you. And not Zeryn.”

Flavio immediately bristled, unconsciously tightening his hands around the recipes. “Yeah…” he muttered, his eye twitching slightly.

As Lynus laughed softly at his reaction, Flavio straightened himself up and pushed aside his annoyance (and trepidation) of said blonde-haired highlander. Before he could turn his attention back to Lynus, he looked up when felt strange sensation of being watched. He could feel eyes on him. Yes, Lynus was there, no doubt looking at him, waiting patiently for him to turn his attention back toward him.

But, no, there was another set of eyes. Not familiar ones, either.

Flavio glanced around in a purposely unwary and casual manner. There were a few customers still lingering around. Most of them still in their sleepy, grumpy stupor of being up so early in the morning and were waiting for the effects of their coffee to kick in. However, his gaze fell upon a tall man alone at a table near the door to the café. Probably in his late thirties, with brown hair and dressed in a long trench coat that was grey in colour. He was leaned well back into his chair, his elbow on the table and his hand resting in the palm of his hand. And focusing in on their direction. Rather blatantly so.

Flavio furrowed his brow slightly as he turned his attention back to Lynus. He hoped that he was just being paranoid, but that guy by the entrance was staring over in their direction for whatever reason. Who was he looking at specifically, though? He must be looking at Lynus. Flavio didn't notice anything about the guy before he walked into the cafe. And it was pretty obvious that Lynus didn't know the guy either as he would have greeted him in some way.

He wondered if he should tell Fafnir or Bertrand about the guy. Although he hadn't done anything yet. He was just...staring creepily. And there wasn't really a law against anyone acting 'creepy'. Let's face it; there would have been a lot of offenders if there was such a law!

“Is something wrong?” Lynus’ question caused Flavio to immediately snap his attention back toward him.

“Oh no, just thinking about something,” Flavio said before he tilted his head to the side and subconsciously reached out to place a hand lightly against Lynus’ arm when he noticed the other swaying slightly on his feet. “Not to be rude or anything, but you look exhausted.”

Lynus trailed his fingertips over the strap of his bag as he nodded his head slowly, tiredly. “A few long hours at the hospital, I'm afraid. There was an incident in the labyrinth last night and I was called out in the middle of the night to help. We managed to save everyone, just not...every limb.”

Flavio felt himself wince and he placed a comforting hand on Lynus’ arm, his grip tightening a fraction when he felt the medic sway slightly.

“Any way, how's the cafe doing?” Lynus unexpectedly asked him quickly, no doubt wanting to change the subject. “I heard you were planning on exchanging grimoire stones with your guests.”

“Hm. We only just started with this little venture, but hopefully it will improve the reputation of the café,” Flavio replied. “Magnus was the one who suggested it.”

A smile of pure fondness appeared on Lynus’s lips and he nodded his head. “Yes, I know. He was quite thrilled that you took his suggestion into consideration. He was happy all afternoon.”

Flavio smiled as well at the thought. “I bet Shen enjoyed that.”

Lynus laughed softly. “I had to patch up his forehead more times than I can remember,” he replied. “In any case, about these grimoires. Do you have many crafted with monster attacks?”

That question was a little surprising. “Ah, a few, I think. Why?”

“I just have this theory regarding the stones and-” Lynus was suddenly cut off by his own yawn and he flushed lightly. “S-sorry, I guess that has to wait until another time. I better get going.”

“Hm,” Flavio nodded his head in understanding, though somewhat reluctant to let him go on his own. He could drop to the ground at any second. “Don’t fall asleep along the way.”

Lynus nodded his head idly. “I’ll try.”

As Lynus turned and walked through the door of the café, Flavio noticed that the guy who had been staring at them during their conversation had also gotten up out of his seat and walked out a few paces after the medic.

That guy was staring at Lynus.

And he was now following him.

Flavio felt a slight surge of panic rush through him and he dropped the recipes that Lynus had delivered onto the front counter, pausing for a moment to shout out at the chef busy in the kitchen.

“Regina! I'm heading out for a bit. Tell Fafnir I won't be long.”

“Sure!” Regina called back. “But it's not my fault if he comes after you.”

Right, right. He’d deal with protective Fafnir later.

Pushing away from the counter, Flavio hurried out of the door and into the streets. He glanced in the direction that he would take to get to the inn and immediately spied the orange-haired medic amongst the slight flow of people. And behind him, a few steps back and with his hands shoved into the pockets of his long jacket was the guy from the café.

“Lynus, wait up!” Flavio immediately called out as he broke out into a hasty, but hopefully unsuspicious jog.

Lynus paused in his steps and turned around to face him with a quizzical expression. As he did the guy that had followed him out of the cafe took a side step into a small alleyway and bent down as if he was to tie up a loose shoelace or something. Lynus didn’t seem to pay any attention to the guy, and Flavio spared him a quick glance from the corner of his eye as he jogged up to Lynus, smiling at the medic when he reached him.

“You're heading to the inn, right?” Flavio asked, his smile hiding his apprehension. “I'll walk with you. I needed to get something from there anyway.”

Lynus looked mildly surprised for a moment before he nodded his head and a kind smile appeared on his lips. “Hm. Sounds good.”

As the two of them began to walk in pace with one another, Flavio glanced over his shoulder, his concern growing when the guy moved out from the alleyway and began to walk a few steps behind them. Crap. He had hoped that the guy would have been discouraged from following when he noticed that Lynus had company.

He was obviously planning something. Something malicious, no doubt.

“I wanted to apologise for what Mahogany said yesterday,” Lynus suddenly said, prompting Flavio to turn back toward him. “To both Fafnir and Bertrand.”

“Does…he really say that a lot?” Flavio asked.

Lynus sighed softly, wearily as he ran a hand through his hair, pulling it out from his usual ponytail. “Mahogany has the ability to see the past memories of others. Especially those of what he calls 'defining moments'. Usually that means he sees events where the person should have died as, really, those moments are pretty significant.”

Oh…well, that would explain quite a bit.

“Must be hard on him,” Flavio murmured.

“Hm,” Lynus sighed again as he set about pulling his hair back into a ponytail. “He's...learnt to handle it, I suppose.”

Flavio nodded his head idly. As they both turned a corner that would take them straight to the inn, he glanced over his shoulder. And winced.

Yep, there was no mistaking it now; the guy was definitely following Lynus. And had moved a little bit closer, his hands shoved deeper into the pockets of his coat. That...kinda freaked Flavio out a bit more. He hoped he could get Lynus safely back to the inn before the guy tried anything. He might not do anything at the moment, but should Lynus be alone for even a second, the guy was likely to try something. Flavio was pretty certain the creep wasn't after an autograph from the famous Miracle Medic.

Flavio quickly turned his attention back to Lynus, not wanting him to become concerned or worried about the creepy stalker guy behind them. “You mentioned that you were at the hospital. Do you get called there often?”

“Mostly for Code Blues,” Lynus answered with a slight shrug of his shoulder, giving absolutely no indication the he knew he was being followed. “But I pop by now and again to do some research on behalf of the hospital.”

Flavio wanted to ask him if it was true that the hospital funding had been slashed for favour of the cafe instead, but Lynus looked so tired right now that Flavio didn't have the heart to ask him such a question. He was pretty sure Lynus would hesitate in answering because he didn't want to make him feel unnecessary guilty.

Besides, right now he had other things to worry about.

He just needed to keep Lynus talking and not worry him. And not alert the potential psycho behind them that he knew of his presence and possible intentions. Ok, he could do that.

“So, what do you research at the hospital?”

“Materials from the labyrinth and how they can be incorporated into healing,” Lynus quickly replied, seemingly happy to talk about his research. “We try to come up with different kinds of potions and tonics. I'm sure you already know about the medicas, but at the hospital, we cater to both explorers and locals, so we need more than a few bottles of medica.”

“You must go through the materials fairly quickly.”

“Yes, we're always looking for more.”

“So you have requests from the hospital? How many?”

"Oh, don't worry about it," Lynus suddenly said with a slightly dismissive wave of his hand. "You have a café to cater to. You have enough on your plate."

“But that means that we do a lot of material gathering, right?” Flavio pointed out. “We could squeeze in a quest or two from the hospital while we're doing that.”

Lynus was silent for a moment, his lips pressed together in thought. “You have a point. And we always need new materials...,” he murmured before he sighed aloud and pressed his hand against his forehead. “Hah, sorry, I can't think of any at the top of my head at the moment. But there is another request board at the bar. One catered solely for the hospital. You should ask Cass more about it.”

Flavio breathed a small sigh of relief when the inn came into view. “Hm, I will.”

When he glanced over his shoulder again, his relief abruptly faded.

God, that guy was still the same unnerving distance behind them!

Flavio didn't like it. Not one little bit. He hadn't a clue what the guy wanted, but the fact that he had followed them silently the entire time, keeping pace with them while keeping a suspicious distance made him internally leery. If the guy followed them inside of the inn, he'd likely wait until Lynus was in his room to do anything. Flavio couldn't leave him alone. He needed to alert one of his guildmates.

Axel, preferably.

More worried than before, Flavio placed a hand on Lynus’ back and urged him into the inn and toward the stairs that would take him up to his room. “Make sure you get some sleep, ok?”

“I will,” Lynus reassured as he placed his hand against the railing of the stairs, subconsciously leaning against it. “Sorry for taking up your time.”

“Not at all. Talk to you later.”

“Yes, enjoy the rest of your day.”

Flavio stayed by the foot of the stairs and watched as Lynus slowly, carefully, made his way up to the top before disappearing from view. With Lynus hopefully safe, Flavio glanced at the stalker guy from the corner of his eye.

It was just as he had feared. The asshole had followed them inside of the inn and was lingering near the entrance, seemingly pacing back and forth slightly as if waiting for someone. For something.

And when Flavio moved away from the stairs, the guy crept closer.

That was it. Flavio wasn’t going to leave the inn until he told someone from the Guardians about that guy lingering too closely near the staircase. He was up to something and Flavio didn’t want Lynus to find out what it was.

Flavio glanced around and his gaze immediately fell upon the blond-haired protector of the Guardians as he stepped out from the tea room and he felt a small rush of relief. He could tell Jhon about the suspicious guy before he left. He was more than certain that Jhon would ensure Lynus’ safety.

“Hey, Jhon?” Flavio called out as he jogged over to him.

“Hm?” Jhon murmured as he lifted his head up and smiled politely when he saw it was him. “Ah, Flavio, what can I do for you?”

Flavio decided to get straight to the point. “I hope I’m just being paranoid, but you see that guy over there near the stairs?” he asked as he jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “The one pretending to tie his shoelaces?”

Jhon’s eyes flickered over Flavio’s shoulder to where he had pointed before he turned to look back at him. “Did he do something?” he immediately asked with a tone of protectiveness in his voice.

“He followed Lynus from the café,” Flavio explained and Jhon’s eyes immediately narrowed in a rather fearsome way. “He didn’t do anything, but he was keeping a suspicious distance and followed him all the way here. That’s why I walked him back. He doesn’t know this, though.”

Jhon nodded his head almost absentmindedly as his gaze turned back to the creepy stalker guy. “Yes, good, thanks for the tip. We’ll be sure to keep an eye on him.”

With that, Flavio felt reassured and confident that Lynus was in safe hands. He better get back to the café before Fafnir started hunting for him, too.

… … … … …

It was nearing lunchtime when Flavio decided to head back to the inn, using the cover of completing another quick errand in order to check up on things there. He wanted to see if he was just being paranoid or whether or not his suspicions on the guy were well founded. He was worried about Lynus’ safety, but he wasn’t frantic with concern. If Axel was anything like Fafnir, the creepy stalker dude didn’t stand a chance if he did try anything.

As Flavio drew closer to the inn, he was somewhat startled to see that a small crowd of people had gathered out the front near the entrance. And they seemed to be glancing over in one particular direction.

He turned to look as well. He furrowed his brow in confusion when he realised that they were staring at a trashcan. And that all he could see from the said trash can were a pair of boots sticking straight up into the air. And they were…attached to a person.

He wondered if…

Scanning the crowd, Flavio once again spied Jhon from the Guardians standing nearby. He also had Macerio with him, the brown-haired gunner crouched on the ground, holding his stomach…laughing? Jhon, on the other hand, looked somewhat exasperated, and though free of his armour he had his sword with him.

“Hey!” Flavio called out to the pair, immediately drawing Jhon’s attention toward him. “Did something happen?”

“Unfortunately, that guy you told me about tried to force his way into Lynus' room,” Jhon explained with a scowl on his face. However, his expression lightened and a smile appeared on his lips. “Fortunately, Axel happened to be there. I'm pretty sure you can guess the rest.”

Hm, yeah, it didn’t take a genius to guess what happened.

“No need to guess, I'll tell you!” Macerio suddenly said as he jumped up and spun around to face him with a large shit-eating grin on his lips. “Axel punched the guy in the face, slammed his head against a wall before throwing him out of a window! He then jumped out himself to drag the guy across the front lawn and dumped him into a trashcan!”

Flavio had to bite back a laugh at the image of an angry redhead dragging the guy by the leg across the ground, cussing the entire time, before hurling him into a garbage can with a loud clang. He couldn’t help but smile, though, when he realised that Fafnir would likely do the exact same thing. He’d probably kick the can down a hill for good measure.

He would have loved to have seen the guy’s expression when he found Axel in the room instead of just Lynus. The last thing to cross his mind would have surely been ‘oh shit’ before nothing but pain and fear.

Serves him right.

“Shame I missed that,” Flavio commented idly before he turned his attention back to Jhon and a slight frown of concern appeared on his lips. “How's Lynus?”

“A little shaken up,” Jhon replied as his smile faded a little into an expression of concern and his gaze flickered toward the inn. “He says he's fine, but he tends to keep his fears to himself for the sake of others.”

Flavio tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow slightly. There was a mild tone of…exasperation in Jhon’s voice. “Why do I get the feeling this isn't the first time something like this has happened?”

Jhon turned back toward him and sighed as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sword that was strap to his side. “Lynus is quite talented as I'm sure you have heard. There are quite a few people who would love to get their hands on such a talented medic. By any means necessary.”

Flavio looked at the blond in surprise. E-even going as far as to kidnap him?

Before he could verbally ask that question, though, Jhon smiled politely at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks for the tip, though. We owe you one.”

But Flavio shook his head. “Oh no, I’m sure you would have done the same thing for anyone else.”


	15. The Things You See...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say that a lot of strange things happen in the labyrinth. But Flavio wasn’t expecting anything like this…

The tenth floor of the labyrinth was a winding and hazardous one, but thankfully there were three different gathering spots for them to approach, and they had managed to find enough shortcuts to make their latest food hunting jaunt for the café quick and easy. Hopefully, if everything went well, they’d be back in time for dinner. Maybe even before sunset.

With the use of the shortcuts, they were able to avoid most of the nesting areas of this floor’s FOEs, so they walked easily and confidentially through the natural formed pathways of red and gold leaves.

When he wasn’t busy skittishly searching their surroundings for monsters, Flavio actually liked gazing at the golden hued scenery. The climate of this stratum was slightly different from the first. It was warm during the day, but cool at night. It wasn’t too warm, nor too cold. It felt like…autumn, really.

Appropriate, actually.

As the five of them walked along a narrow path, Flavio told his guildmates (though mostly Fafnir as he was walking beside him) about what had transpired that morning, about that creepy guy who had been dining at their café and practically stalked Lynus through the streets as he walked back to the inn. How Flavio first noticed him and made the immediate decision to walk with the tangerine-haired medic to ensure his safety.

He also couldn’t help but add how this didn’t appear to be the first time it happened, and he wondered how Lynus had the confidence to walk the streets alone. He probably knew that if anyone should try anything, his guildmates would immediately step in. Heck, Flavio was pretty certain any of the locals and explorers that he knew would immediately step in to protect the adorable medic.

Rounding a corner that led to a take point, Fafnir took a step to the side to allow for Arianna, Chloe, and Bertrand to proceed toward the gathering spot and folded his arms across his chest as a frown appeared on his lips.

“You should have told me first,” Fafnir said as he gave him a protective but still somewhat withering stare. “What if he did try something?”

“I didn't have time,” Flavio insisted, finding Fafnir’s stare more endearing than intimidating. “I was pretty confident that he wouldn't do something in broad daylight, out in the open. Besides, Axel was more than capable of taking care of it, so there was no need.”

Fafnir still looked surprisingly bitter, though. Actually, no, he was sulking.

"How so?" he asked instead of chiding him further.

Flavio gave him a one shoulder shrug and smiled. "Something along the lines of punching the guy in the face, before he slammed his head against the wall, threw him out of the second story window, dragged him across the front lawn of the inn before driving him headfirst into a trash can."

He had to pause for a moment when he remembered the sight of the two legs sticking up straight into the air, as if he had been spear-headed into the trash can. Most notable, though, was that no one was even attempting to approach to see if he was alive. Either they didn't want to because of fear of Axel or because the creepy guy deserved it for no doubt frightening Lynus the way he did.

The latter seemed more plausible.

"He's probably still there," he added as an afterthought.

Instead of looking amused or even bemused, Fafnir lowered his gaze to the ground in front of him and held his chin in thought. “I have to remember that one…” he muttered under his breath.

Flavio arched an eyebrow at his friend but chose not to comment on his mumbling. Honestly, though, he hoped that Fafnir didn’t sit down with Axel and have a drink with him while discussing ways to creatively ‘dispose’ of creeps who turned their unwanted attention toward their guildmates.

A soft rustling sound suddenly caught Flavio’s attention and he perked up his ears. He turned in the direction of the path they had just trodden and focused his attention there. He could definitely hear something. Faint as it was, there was a rustling sound. Not the noise that wind made breezing through the branches or leaves of the trees around them. It was more deliberate, yet chaotic.

He couldn’t quite make it out, though. The others were talking amongst themselves so he couldn’t really concentrate.

"Shh," Flavio hushed quietly. "I think I can hear something."

The others fell silent for a moment, listening as well. But after a moment, Bertrand sighed and folded his arms over his chest. "I can't hear anything," he said.

"No, neither can I," Arianna added as she smiled absentmindedly as she carefully combed through the take point. "Perhaps, Sir Flavio, you are still on guard from that incident this morning?"

That...could be possible. Even so, better to be safe than sorry.

"I'm just going to scout ahead just in case," Flavio said with a frown on his lips as he could still hear a slight rustling in the distance.

Fafnir looked ready to protest, but became silent when Arianna tapped him on his arm to gain his attention. Fafnir glanced at Arianna for a second before turning his gaze at Flavio. “You’ve got five minutes,” he said simply.

Flavio resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes, I’ll be quick.”

Honestly, could he be any more protective? Endearing, sure, but seriously…

As he removed the bow from his back and trailed a fingertip over the quill of an arrow, Flavio turned away from his guildmates and silently jogged in the direction he heard the noise. He stayed close to the tree line, pausing momentarily at the base of trees he felt confident in climbing should he need to hastily.

He slowed his pace to a cautious walk when he encountered a slight clearing that had two other pathways branching off. He crouched near a tree and quietened his breathing.

There was another sound of a slight rustle and then...the sound of footsteps. Bipedal. Approaching him quickly.

Before Flavio could raise his bow and place a quiver in place, something burst through the red and orange foliage of his surroundings, sending twigs and leaves flying in all directions. Flavio had time to see a pink blur shoot past him, followed promptly by the sound of something…hooting with delight?

Wait…no, someone was cackling with excitement!

Startled greatly by the abnormal sound, Flavio felt his eyes widen when that pink blur suddenly paused in the middle of the chamber. It was a Giant Moa. Looking around skittishly. Fearfully. And it wasn’t alone.

No, there wasn’t another monster with it or anything. It was worse than that. There was…something sitting on its back…t-two people…riding it…

Yeah…

Pushing away from the tree he had been hiding against, Flavio found himself taking a step forward as he stared at the monster-riding duo in complete and utter amazement. Giant Moas were dangerous! They could slice open an explorer’s stomach with one kick! Who the hell were these two and how were they able to ride on the back of a moa without a care in the world?!

He…wasn’t seeing things, was he?

Flavio felt himself tense out of unease when the two, a male and a female, abruptly turned their attentions toward him. The man with the blue hair, the one that seemed to be, ah, guiding the Giant Moa with his hands around its throat looked at him with a curious if oblivious look on his face. And the hexer, gosh she looked like she was thirteen or something, was perched delicately, but completely unafraid behind him on the moa’s back.

“Hello!” the blue-haired man cheerfully greeted him. If Flavio hadn’t been able to see that large, goofy smile on the man’s face, he most certainly heard it in his voice.

“Greetings,” the hexer who was perched behind the man simply stated, her gaze as vacant as her voice.

“…Hi?” Flavio murmured in return, his eyes unblinking as he stared at the pair.

The man, who appeared to be a landsknecht, suddenly, but childishly, tilted his head to the side. “Do you want a lift?” he unexpectedly asked as he pointed to the frantic and frightened monster he was fearlessly riding like some kind of a horse.

“N-no, that’s ok,” Flavio immediately replied, lapsing into his habituated politeness. “T-thanks for the offer?”

He had heard that hexers had the ability to instill fear in monsters, controlling them in such a way that they would either attack themselves or other monsters. But…this was completely different.

“Are you alone?” the landsknecht continued to ask him questions, completely oblivious to the ridiculousness of the situation.

“I’m part of a guild,” Flavio answered as he continued to openly stare at the two.

“You shouldn’t wander alone,” the hexer stated. “Those who are pretty can find themselves in trouble.”

“O-oh, ok,” Flavio muttered.

Wait…did she just call him pretty? W-what kind of trouble was she referring to?

“You should go back to your guild then!” the blue-haired man said, wearing that same goofy smile. “They’ll be getting worried.”

“I-I will.”

If at all possible, the man’s smile widened further before he tightened his grip on the moa’s neck and dug his heels in, causing the monster to lurch forward slightly, facing the direction of a pathway leading away from the chamber.

“Bye then!” he said simply before the bird-like monster sprinted forward, legs flailing and wings bristling, all but utterly _terrified._

And Flavio stared in their direction, completely dumbfounded.

…What in the world-?

“ ** _Simmons, I’m going to murder your ass!_** ”

Out of the small clearing in the forest wall, the one that the man riding the Giant Moa had created, two more figures appeared. A male and a female. And they were dressed in the garbs of gunners. They stumbled into the clearing, pausing in the middle to rest their hands on their knees and to wheeze and pant loudly.

W-were they t-teammates?

The male gunner in the brown trench coat appeared to be wheezing slightly, holding a hand against his side as if he had a stitch. The female gunner in the blue clothes was slumped forward, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders that rose and fell as she breathed and gasped loudly. It appeared as if the two had just been in a marathon.

As he drew in a sharp and loud breath through his nose, the male gunner abruptly straightened his posture and his gaze inexplicably locked onto Flavio’s.

“Did you see two dumbasses riding a fucking bird?” he gruffly and abruptly asked him, his voice hoarse from running.

Wordlessly, Flavio lifted his hand and pointed in the direction the Giant Moa with two riders had disappeared in.

The male gunner’s nostrils flared as he drew in another breath before he lurched forward, immediately heading in the direction Flavio had pointed in. “Move yer ass, Tiff!”

The girl, Tiff, bristled wildly as she threw her hands up into the air in a sign of exasperation. “Why does this keep happening?!” she shrilled at the top of her lungs before uttering another sound of sheer annoyance and charged forward after the male gunner.

And then there was silence.

And all Flavio could do was stare at where the two gunners disappeared in with a look of sheer bewilderment on his face.

Did…did that just happen?

Flavio didn’t know how long he stood there in a daze, but it wasn’t until he heard Fafnir calling his name did he manage to shake himself out of his stupor. He turned to look as his guildmates made their way over to them, Fafnir at the lead as per usual.

Fafnir opened his mouth, no doubt ready to chide him for taking longer than five minutes when he paused and furrowed his brow in concern. “What happened?” he asked.

Flavio wasn’t entirely sure how to answer, so he just blurted it all out. After he was finished telling them what had happened, he fell silent and waited for a response.

Instead of looking puzzled or sceptical, Fafnir looked surprisingly concerned. “We didn’t hear a thing,” he unexpectedly said slowly. “Maybe you’ve stayed up late one too many nights.”

Flavio’s mouth dropped out in shock before he snapped it shut with indignation and bristled. “I didn’t imagine it!”

“It’s ok, kid,” Bertrand suddenly said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. “The labyrinth does that to people.”

“B-but it really happened!”

“Sir Flavio, you have quite the imagination!” Arianna all but beamed dreamily at him.

“I didn’t imagine it!”

“…Maybe he needs to get some sleep?” Chloe added with a slight frown.

“I’m fine!” Flavio adamantly insisted as Fafnir wrapped an arm around his waist and dug around in his pocket for the Ariadne Thread.”Gah, why won’t you believe me?!”


	16. Meeting Prince Charmless…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting the monster riding duo (which his guild still doesn’t believe), Flavio thought he had seen everything. But this obnoxious little kid was something else…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought it was about time we meet a new character :3 Enjoy!

There was a large plate of curry right in front of Flavio, and while it was delicious as always and he was honestly enjoying it, he couldn’t wipe the frown from his lips as he ate. After they had returned from the labyrinth, he was dragged to the café and ordered to get something to eat to help with his ‘light-headedness’ and ‘minor lapse into delirium’.

He wasn’t delirious; they were making him delirious!

They still didn’t believe him. They didn’t believe that he had saw two explorers riding on the back of a giant moa, controlling it with its neck, and that two other explorers dressed as gunners were chasing them on foot.

Ok, so, if someone else had claimed the same thing he did, he might not fully believe them either. But it wasn’t someone else, it was him, and it was beside the point! Unbelievable!

“You're still sulking, kid?” Bertrand asked him as he lifted his coffee to his lips and took a drawn out sip.

“I'm not sulking.”

“You're pouting,” Chloe pointed out almost smugly.

“I'm not pouting.”

“It is a most adorable pout, Sir Flavio,” Arianna complimented sincerely.

“No it's not.”

“On par with his sneezes,” Fafnir added with a slight smirk in his tone.

“Oh, yes!” Arianna beamed as she clapped her hands together in front of her. “Sir Flavio's sneezes are like that of kittens. Quite precious!”

“Pity I missed that,” Bertrand idly commented, prompting Chloe to murmur a small noise of agreement next to him.

“Stop picking on me!” Flavio bristled as he slammed his hand on top of the table loudly, though no one flinched, which only served to raise his hackles further. “And I didn't imagine that guy riding a giant moa, ok? It really happened!”

“Yes yes. Eat your curry before it gets cold.”

Flavio grumpily slumped back into his seat and shovelled a large spoonful of the delicious curry into his mouth.

He was about to shovel more food grouchily into his mouth when the door to the café was suddenly flung open in a dramatic manner, the bell used to alert for customers flying off from its position and tumbling across the floor.

Immediately, everyone spun around, tensing on guard to see…a kid with short green hair wearing a white cape and silver crown, and carrying a silver royal sceptre, lift himself to stand upon a vacant table and throw his head back on a laugh.

A loud, obnoxious laugh.

“Mwahaha! I, Prince Benedict Richardson the Third, challenge you to a duel!” the kid suddenly exclaimed as he pointed his sceptre in their direction. Actually, no, more directed toward Fafnir. “The victor shall gain the meat-shield I mean herald's unquestionable loyalty!”

…?

“...What?” Flavio muttered, breaking the thick silence that had fell over the entire café the moment the kid was done speaking. “Who are you talking about?”

“Is he looking at me?”

“It does appear that way, Sir Fafnir.”

“What's a meat-shield? Can you eat it?”

“No kiddo, you can't.”

The kid puffed his cheeks out in annoyance as he stamped his foot childishly upon the table he was standing one. “Your sharp-witted and caustic barbs will not cause me to falter! For I, Benedict Richardson the Third, is a prince of the highest quality! Heathens, such as yourselves, cannot penetrate my overwhelming and royal presence!”

Flavio felt his eye twitch and he frowned as he glanced back at his guild mates. “...Did that kid just call us heathens?”

Wait…Benedict…Benedict…where had he heard that name before?

“Hey Princey!” Regina was heard shouting from the kitchen area. “Get off the tables! What barn were you born in?!”

“Be silent, peasant!” the kid shrilled. “No one dares to speak to Benedict Richardson the Third in such a manner!”

Flavio felt his eye twitch again as he turned his attention back to the kid. “So we're peasants now...?”

“So that's Dick, huh?” Bertrand mused from the Flavio’s left. “They weren't kidding when they said he was obnoxious.”

Dick…? Oh, right! He remembered now. The Guardians told him a story about how a kid threw a major hissy fit on the first floor because he didn’t like the way the ragelopes neighed like a horse.

“I thought I recognised the name...” he muttered.

Benedict suddenly leapt off of the table and landed on the floor in the middle of the café in a dramatic fashion before he whirled his staff above his head with an overly eccentric flurry and pointed it in Fafnir’s direction. “On guard, my rival!”

While Flavio felt himself tense from the sudden actions, Fafnir didn’t flinch. He didn’t even look interested. He rested his elbow upon the table and then placed his chin into the palm of his hand, his eyes half-lidded with indifference.

“No,” he said flatly.

“Ah hah! A typical response from my heated rival!”

“I’m not your rival,” Fafnir once again answered in a deadpanned and completely uninterested manner.

“Again, most typical!” Benedict shouted as he kept his sceptre pointed in Fafnir’s direction. However, his eyes suddenly narrowed and his stance faltered. He then unexpectedly squinted his eyes at him and leaned forward, as if he couldn’t actually see Fafnir properly.

And Fafnir still didn’t move. Even when Benedict poked him lightly with his sceptre for a reaction.

Suddenly, Benedict’s eyes widen and he threw himself back, falling to the floor and appearing as if he had just been scandalised in some manner. “You fiendish fiend! You dare to take on the appearance of my arch nemesis to lure me into a trap?!”

Fafnir rolled his eyes in a manner that could only be described as sheer distain. “You have an arch-nemesis?”

Bertrand snorted loudly as he folded his arms across his chest and looked at the kid with a small sparkle of amusement in his eyes. “What kind of rival would a twelve-year-old have?”

Someone who didn’t see themselves as his rival, probably.

“Silence!” Benedict immediately shrilled as he leapt back to his feet and pointed a dramatic hand in Bertrand’s direction. “I should have you know that while I indeed look adorable, I am truly a twenty-one-year-old handsome prince!”

No one believed him, least of all Bertrand. “Yeah.”

“Do not mock the unmockable!”

Flavio furrowed his brow, puzzled. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Silence!” Benedict shouted once again, though his tone was a slightly higher pitch than before. He then spun around to face Fafnir once more and like he did with Bertrand, pointed theatrically at him. “You, man who is in cahoots with my rival, know this; I, Benedict Richardson the Third, will not fall for your trap again! This was nothing more than a slight miscalculation; it will not happen again! And next time we meet, you will not fare as well for my humble generosity can only go so far!”

With that said, he flared his cape around his shoulders in a high dramatic way, holding the folds with his arms as if he was some kind of phantom in the night as he stalked toward the door, again his movements flamboyant and overly dramatic. But he kept walking, even though the door was obviously closed, and walked straight into it. He fell back onto his back and sat there dazed for a moment before he leapt to his feet and spun around to face them as he flailed out an arm and pointed at the door.

"What kind of magical barrier have you put in place to entrap me, the highly regarded Prince Benedict Richardson the Third?!"

Flavio felt his eye twitch. "You walked into the door."

"I would do no such thing!"

Flavio dragged a frustrated hand over his face before he took to his feet, stalked the distance towards the door, passed a melodramatically suspicious Benedict and opened the door for him. “Barrier lifted,” he said simply.

“Hmph!” Benedict huffed with his head held high before he pulled his cape around him once more and marched irritatingly smug through the door.

Honestly, Flavio was happy to see the back of him.

What a truly bizarre day. The monster riding duo he had met were at least polite, especially compared to this kid.

“I didn't imagine that one now did I?” Flavio asked as he let the door fall shut and he walked back over to the table where the others still sat, no doubt trying to comprehend what just happened.

“Your hallucinations might be contagious,” Bertrand answered rather dryly, which was honesty a little frustrating.

“What does that mean?!” Flavio bristled before he paused and folded his arms across his chest in thought. “Actually, what the hell _did_ just happen?”

Before anyone could answer, the door to the café opened again and Flavio couldn’t help but wince, half expecting to hear that loud shrill of Benedict’s voice again.

“Flavio!”

Flavio jumped slightly in surprise at the familiarity of the voice, of which was nothing like that of Benedict’s. “Oh?” he muttered as he immediately spun around, spying a familiar orange-haired medic with a red-haired landsknecht. “Lynus? Axel?”

Lynus hurried over to him and unexpectedly hugged him around the neck. Flavio was startled at first, but he soon recovered and hugged the medic back with a smile on his lips.

“Thank you for this morning,” Lynus said as he pulled back but kept his hands on Flavio’s shoulders and pouted slightly. “Jhon told me everything. You should have told me.”

Flavio kept his hands against Lynus’ side as he rolled his eyes. “Oh please, if the positions were reversed you would have done the exact same thing.”

Lynus’ pout dissipated and he smiled as he pulled back. “Ah, I guess you’re right.”

“Hey,” Axel said as he came up right behind Lynus and placed a hand on his shoulder as he reached out with his other hand toward Flavio, as if he wanted to shake his hand. “I truly appreciate what you did for Lynus.”

“Not at all,” Flavio immediately said as he grasped Axel’s hand with his. “From what I heard, you took care of it.”

Axel’s lips twitched into a half smile as he released his hand. “Macerio, right? He finds the whole thing hysterical.”

“Oh, you were eating?” Lynus suddenly asked with an apologetic tone. “Sorry for interrupting.”

Flavio smiled at the medic and shook his head. “Oh no, you’re fine. We…already had an interesting visitor.”

“We just met Dick,” Bertrand unexpectedly piped up from behind him.

Axel glanced over Flavio’s shoulder toward the protector and an expression that could only be described as empathetic appeared on his face. “Aren’t you lucky? Ah, I guess he thought Fafnir was Rahas.”

Flavio frowned at the thought of the dark hunter. “The squirrel? But Fafnir doesn’t look anything like him.”

“Benedict needs glasses,” Lynus informed him with a shake of his head. “Rather urgently, actually.”

“He does this to anyone with white hair,” Axel added with a shrug.

“Yes. You see Benedict sees Rahas as a rival for a man called Simmons’, and his, ah, _affection,_ I suppose you could say,” Lynus finished with a smile before he tilted his head questioningly to the side. “By the way, squirrel?”

Flavio couldn’t help but feel a little agitated that Rahas seemed to have a love life – if that was what Lynus meant by affection. He shook his head slightly, however, to rid himself of a surprising feeling of annoyed jealousy and turned his attention back to Lynus.

“Oh, well, the first time I met Rahas he was perched in a tree like some kind of deranged squirrel,” he said before he scrunched his nose up disgruntledly. “And he rudely called me a scrawny chipmunk.”

A flash of realisation appeared on Lynus’ face. “Oh, so you’re chipmunk?”

Flavio felt himself bristle at the nickname. “Anyway, speaking of strange encounters,” he said, hastily changing the subject. “You guys would believe me if I told you I saw a guy with blue hair and a twelve-year-old looking hexer riding a giant moa in the labyrinth, right?”

Axel’s eye unexpectedly twitched and he looked exasperated. “Guild Cosmos…”

Lynus, however, smiled and clapped his hands in front of him. “That’s Simmons!”

There was a pause of silence for a moment.

“Wait, so idiots like that exist?” Bertrand was heard asking.

“Unfortunately,” Axel answered, the corner of his mouth twitching into a half smirk before he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at Lynus. “At least they’re leaving the ragelopes along.”

Lynus nodded his head as a look of concern spread across his face. “A giant moa isn’t much better. He’s probably at the hospital right now.”

Flavio, however, simply felt justified and turned around to face his guild. “Told you I didn’t imagine it!”

“Don’t get smug,” Bertrand retorted simply as he began to drink his coffee again.

“Well,” Lynus said with a laugh, prompting Flavio to turn toward him again. “I suppose anyone who hasn’t had much to do with Guild Cosmos would find it odd. Cosmos is…a special guild, I suppose you could say.”

Axel arched an eyebrow at the gentle-smiling medic before he snorted softly. “Only you could mean that nicely,” he muttered before he turned to give Flavio a rather pointed look. “Though, once you meet them, it’s hard to get rid of them. So you’re luck’s ran out, it seems.”

Flavio wasn’t entirely sure what to think of that…W-was that…a warning?


	17. Blossoming Friendships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, it was nice spending peaceful moments with those who are like minded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairings: Platonic/friendly Flavio/Lynus/Hrothgar fluff~
> 
> AN: This was supposed to be short. But somehow it kept growing XD These three honestly make such good friends~ Hope you feel the same way! Enjoy!

It was well after midnight, the sky a pitch black outside without the light of the moon, and Flavio found himself unable to settle and relax. Not that it was anything new for him. Staying up late and staring at the ceiling was quite the nightly occurrence. His mind was always reeling with preparation for what tomorrow would bring. He always did a mental checklist over the things he had and the things he needed for when they head into the labyrinth tomorrow.

But tonight he felt unquestionably restless.

And after turning over to his side for the umpteenth time, he decided that he wasn't going to be able to sleep in his current state. Instead Flavio threw off the blankets in an agitated fashion and sat up as he peered around at the darkness with a slight scowl on his face. He was agitated, but not all that surprised. There was a sound of thunder rumbling in the distance and the wind was starting to pick up. He had never been a very solid sleeper. And the sounds of nature outside were making him edgy. What survivalist didn’t feel that way, right?

Uttering an annoyed huff, Flavio swung his legs over the side of the bed and proceeded to sleep on some of his outwear clothes and his boots. If he couldn’t sleep, he should go for a walk or do something at least somewhat productive. Staying in his room and staring up at the ceiling wasn’t an option. That would honestly only irritated him further.

As Flavio slipped on his jacket, he quietly opened the door of his room and peered out. The hallway was as dark as the sky outside and there didn’t appear to be anyone else up and about. He couldn’t see any lights shining from the bottom of his guildmates’ rooms, so thankfully they appeared to be sleeping.

Stepping out into the hallway, Flavio silently closed the door behind him before he turned toward the direction of the front foyer. He figured he would loiter around there, perhaps help Hanna out if she had any late night guests. Or at least sit in the tearoom and just watch the flames in the fireplace. That was always calming.

The foyer was empty as Flavio passed through. He wrapped his arms around himself lightly when the sound of the wind intensified outside, and he shivered. Though not from the cold, but the sound of wind. He had never liked the sound of the high-pitched, shrieking wind. It made his skin crawl. Always had and it probably always will.

Deciding that he didn’t want to be in the foyer in case the wind blew open the front doors, Flavio continued to move and decided to head to the tearoom as he could see the door was open and a soft, flicking light was being emitted from within. If nothing else, he could sprawl out on the large, plush couch that was usually situated in front of the fireplace. The couch was a rather large piece of furniture, designed for anyone to sleep on it if they wanted, a couple of people even. It was there for the winter months, or so he was told, as rooms with their own fireplaces were extremely popular during those times.

He was also told that fights often broke out for the best spot in front of the fireplace. And, funnily enough, the Guardians were said to always win.

As Flavio stepped inside the room, his gaze immediately trailed over to the couch and immediately noticed that it was occupied by two familiar individuals. One was a certain orange-haired medic who was sat in the middle of the couch, reading a book in one hand while the other idly raked through the hair of another, a familiar protector with red hair who appeared to be asleep with his head resting on Lynus’ lap.

Flavio was…surprised by the sight.

“Lynus?” he found himself muttering in surprise.

Lynus glanced up from his book and smiled gently over at him, not at all perturbed by him. In fact, he simply placed his book down next to him, his hand still gently toying with Hrothgar’s hair.

“Hm? Oh, hello Flavio,” he said warmly. “You can come in if you want. Hrothgar is just resting. He tried to guide a rookie guild through the second floor, but their dark hunter was too energetic, I suppose you could say, and she foolishly pulled her guild into a battle against a raptor. And Hrothgar, being the staunch protector that he is, immediately placed himself on the front line. Not without consequence, though. He was thrown back into a tree and hit his head. Thankfully, though, there were no skull fractures and he managed to keep fighting, even with blurred vision.”

“Oh,” Flavio murmured in response before his brow furrowed with concern and he crossed the room to crouch in front of them so that he could get a better look at the redheaded protector. It was then that he noticed that he had fresh white bandages wrapped around his forehead. “How is he doing now?”

“He’s thankfully sleeping now,” Lynus answered with a slight hum. “The threat of concussion has passed. He’s not in any pain or discomfort now. He’s probably getting the best sleep he had in ages.”

Flavio felt his concern lift and he nodded his head as he gazed at Hrothgar for a moment. The protector was lying on his side, one leg on the couch while the other touched the floor. His hands were folded near his chest as his head rested comfortably on Lynus’ thigh. His face was smooth, without any tension or pain. He honestly looked comfortable. But…

“Shouldn’t he be in his room, though?” Flavio couldn’t help but ask.

“I wanted to keep an eye on him for the next couple of hours,” Lynus replied with a slight shrug of his shoulder. “The clinic is a little too cold at this time of night. I thought the tearoom, with the fireplace, would be better. At least Wulfgar seems to have settled.”

Flavio blinked and immediately glanced over his shoulder toward the fireplace. There, lying in front of it was a certain dark furred wolf, who of which lifted his head from his folded paws when he seemed to realise that Flavio was looking at him. And he wasn’t alone, either. He was lying next to a certain white-tiger who was at least twice the size of him. 

“Oh, hey Wulfgar, didn’t see you there.” Flavio greeted with a smile, of which grew when the white tiger seemed to flick his tail irritably at him. “Yes, I can see you too, Chi-hung.”

Lynus laughed warmly, which prompted Flavio to turn his attention back to him. And as he did so, Flavio saw a sense of tenderness in his violet eyes as Lynus gazed back down at Hrothgar.

“Also, I wanted him to have some company,” Lynus said as an empathetic smile appeared on his lips. “He tries to do so much on his own. And I worry that each time he finds a reckless guild, he’ll muse about the misfortune of his own.

Flavio’s gaze also wandered down to the protector and his heart immediately went out to him. “Yeah, that’s true. I’m glad he’s not on his own now.”

Lynus nodded his head idly before turning his back toward Flavio, and tilted his head to the side in curiosity. “What about you? Couldn’t sleep?”

“Ah, yeah,” Flavio answered as he rubbed the back of his neck and pushed himself to his feet. “Just feeling a little restless tonight.”

“Hmm,” Lynus hummed in thought for a moment before he suddenly said; “You have your hair out. This is the first time I’ve seen you with your hair out.”

Flavio blinked at him for a second before he reached out to rake a hand through his hair to see that, he was right. His hair was out. He normally tied it back, no matter where he went or what he did. He must have been so agitated by the wind that he plain forgot. “Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot to tie it back,” he simply muttered.

He was about to make a remark about Lynus having his own hair down when Hrothgar uttered a soft, low moan and he began to stir. But Lynus carefully carded his fingers through his hair to gently lull him back to restfulness. Even as Hrothgar’s breathing eased out once more, Lynus kept running his fingers through his hair idly. As if it was something of a habit of his, now. As if…he had spent many a night sitting in front of the fireplace as he gently soothed and watch over another as they slept.

That…wouldn’t surprise Flavio a bit.

“Could you do me a favour?” Lynus suddenly asked him.

“Yeah, of course,” Flavio immediately replied.

Lynus gave him a grateful smile. “Could you duck into the clinic for me? In the cabinet right next to the door as you walk in are some medicine bottles. Could you grab a blue one and a green one for me?”

“Blue and green,” Flavio repeated as he nodded his head. “Sure, I can do that.”

“Thank you,” Lynus said in earnest. “I would, but I don’t want to wake Hrothgar now that he’s sleeping soundly.

Flavio smiled back at him. “Hm, of course. I’ll be right back.”

He turned on his heel and quickly left the room. The clinic was thankfully only a few doors down and it was open as well. There was no one else inside as Flavio stepped. He had never been inside the clinic before, so he couldn’t help but look around idly. There were several beds lined up with curtain partitions between them. There was a desk in the corner with a filing cabin. And there were bookcases and cabinets practically lining the walls, all of them either holding bottles of medicine or medical equipment.

Flavio didn’t know the first thing about clinics or medical practices, but this place looked efficient. If anything untoward should happen here, they were still in good hands.

Turning his gaze from his surroundings, Flavio turn back toward the door and toward the cabin Lynus said was close by. He pulled open the door to find that, too, was filled with medicine bottles. They had labels written onto the shelves, but they appeared to be in medical jargon, so he hadn’t a clue what they were. So he simply picked up the first blue and green bottle he saw and closed the cabinet.

As Flavio stepped back into the tearoom, he immediately noticed that Hrothgar was still asleep and Lynus was resting back against the couch, his book closed and resting on the small coffee table located half in front of the couch.

Lynus immediately glanced over at him and his expression brightened in a grateful warmth. “Thank you,” he said as Flavio wasted no time crossing the distance and presenting to Lynus the two medicine bottles. “The blue one is for when Hrothgar wakes up. And the green one is for you.”

Flavio blinked at him in surprise as Lynus only took one of the bottles from him. “Me?

“The wind outside increases your anxiety, causing you to feel on edge, like you are in the labyrinth, right?” Lynus stated more so than asked.

“How did-?”

Lynus laughed lightly, though not at him but at his reaction. “Tobyn is just the same. He hates the sound of howling wind. Thankfully I gave him something to ease his nerves, or we would have two survivalists wandering around, complaining about the wind.”

Oh, well, that made sense actually. Still…

“Are you sure it’s ok for me to-?”

Lynus arched an eyebrow at him. “I wouldn’t have asked you to retrieve it if it wasn’t ok.”

Oh…that made sense, too.

“Thank you,” Flavio said sincerely.

Lynus’ gaze softened. “Not at all,” he said before he motioned to the couch next to him. “Sit.”

And Flavio did just that without hesitation.

“Is there something else troubling you?” Lynus asked him gently as Flavio leaned back into the couch.

“I’m…honestly not sure,” Flavio found himself answering honestly as he fidgeted with the bottle in his hands.

Lynus nodded his head in understanding and continued to look at him in a way that Flavio could only describe as a supportive, empathetic parent figure would. “Do you wish to talk about it? I’m not prying, but you are your guilds caretaker, yes?”

Flavio felt himself pout a little when his mind immediately started to recall all the times Fafnir called him as much. “Well, Fafnir seems to think so.”

Again, Lynus simply nodded his head before he reached out to place his hand on top of Flavio’s that were unconsciously fidgeting with the glass bottle. “Sometimes, when you’re a caretaker, you tend to forget about yourself and think of everyone else. And, sometimes, it’s hard to talk to your guildmates when something is troubling you as you don’t want them to be worried or concerned.”

Flavio glanced down at Lynus’ hand that gently sat atop of his before he found himself biting the inside of his mouth. It…should be ok to talk to Lynus, right? He would understand.

“To be honest, I just have…this feeling that something terrible is going to happen,” Flavio found himself confessing. “I don’t mean like encountering a FOE in the labyrinth and coming out second best. As terrible as that would be, this is…different. I feel like…I’m going to lose Fafnir. For good.”

And it…scared the hell out of him. He didn’t…

“I understand that fear well,” Lynus said as he squeezed his hand in a truly comforting manner. “If I were to lose Axel, I…honesty don’t know what I would do.”

Yeah…it was a scary thing to imagine.

“It’s something I hope neither of you will ever experience.”

“Oh, Horthgar,” Flavio murmured before he winced guiltily as he and Lynus both turn to look over at Hrothgar who was pushing himself into a sitting position. “Sorry, did we wake you.”

Hrothgar smiled politely at the two of them as he eased himself upright. “Well, yes and no.”

“Don’t move around so quickly,” Lynus chided slightly as he removed his hand from Flavio’s and casted an inspecting gaze over the protector.

“I’m fine,” Hrothgar said in return before he smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry for taking up your time.”

Lynus made another softly chiding sound and shook his head. “Don’t be silly. You are an honorary member of the Guardians, after all.”

Hrothgar’s polite expression faltered and a look of surprise mixed with guilt, relief and happiness appeared to take its place. “…Hm, you’re right.”

Lynus smiled warmly at him before he pressed the blue glass bottle against his chest. “Now, take this. How are you feeling? Headaches?”

“A minor one,” Hrothgar answered honestly as he took the bottle and popped it open.

“That will fade shortly,” Lynus returned as he motioned for him to drink his medicine, though he couldn’t seem to stop himself from adding; “You need to take it easy for the next couple of days.”

Hrothgar chuckled lightly as he sipped his medicine slowly. “Yes, I understand. How long was I asleep?”

Lynus gave a one shoulder shrug. “A couple of hours.”

Hrothgar frowned and flushed at the same time. “I’m sorry; did you stay the entire time?”

“It was nothing, don’t worry,” Lynus immediately said as he gave a slightly dismissive wave of his hand. “I wanted to keep an eye on you.”

Hrothgar nodded his head slowly before a smile spread across his lips. “I bet there were a lot of jealous people passing by.”

Lynus tilted his head to the side. “Hm? What do you mean?”

Flavio felt a smile of amusement spread across his own lips. “Yeah, who wouldn’t want to rest their head on Lynus’ lap?”

Hrothgar chuckled as Lynus turned to regard him. “Are you saying you want to?” he unexpectedly asked.

Before Flavio had the chance to respond, Lynus suddenly reached up and grasped the collar of his jacket, and with a surprisingly amount of strength, tugged him forward so that Flavio sprawled across his lap. As Flavio made a sound of surprise, he heard Hrothgar laugh a genuinely amused laugh, and despite the fact that Flavio himself had never, ever rested his head on someone’s lap before, he found himself uttering a laugh too.

It wouldn’t hurt to experience some of the infamous Mother-Hen treatment, would it?

Instead of pushing away, Flavio twisted around until he was on his back with his legs dangling over the side of the couch, his head still resting on Lynus’ lap. “It must be hard being the caretaker of such a large guild,” he commented idly as he got himself settled and folded his arms comfortably over his stomach.

“Hm? Oh, not really,” Lynus replied in earnest as he nestled himself into the back of the couch. “I’m used to taking care of a lot of difficult people. My guild is a breeze compared to…other places, like the hospital, I mean.”

Flavio noticed the slight pause in Lynus’ words as quickly as he had noticed the softly pained look in his eyes. But both were fleeting and that soft, genuine smile soon appeared on his lips once more.

“A certain other guild, however,” he continued with an amused glint in his eyes. “Can test my patience.”

Flavio was about to ask who before he heard Hrothgar utter a sigh that was tinged with annoyance. “Cosmos…”

Cosmos…Wait, that was the name of the guild that Flavio had an encounter with! The one with two riding on the back of a giant moa with two more chasing them on foot.

“Don’t tell me you encountered Cosmos riding on the back of a monster, too?” Flavio asked as he tilted his head back slightly to look up at the redheaded protector.

“Sadly, yes,” Hrothgar answered with an exasperated huff and idly batted a strand of his hair from his eyes. “The first time I encountered them they were trying to tame a ragelope. Of course, you can imagine how well that went. No one believed me when I told them. They said no one would be that stupid. Thankfully, Lynus and the Guardians did. Or I would have questioned my own sanity.”

Flavio couldn’t help but laugh. He went through the same thing, after all, so it was nice to know that he wasn’t the only one. “I saw them riding a giant moa and no one from my guild believed me.”

Lynus laughed softly. “Simmons is becoming quite notorious now. Though his guildmates aren’t much better. I have some stories about all of them, to be honest.”

Flavio casually swung one of his legs back and forth, completely at ease. “Regulars at the hospital?”

“Indeed they are,” Lynus readily answered before he shook his head slightly, a softly sympathetic look in his eyes as he stared over at the fireplace. “Poor Gerald, though. He tries so hard.”

“I take it Gerald is the older gunner who is usually chasing around after him on foot?” Flavio questioned.

Again, Lynus laughed and nodded his head as his hand unconsciously reached out to toy with Flavio’s hair, and Flavio made no attempt to stop him. “That’s him,” he said. “The trouble his guildmates put him through, honestly.”

“Hm,” Hrothgar made a sound of agreement. “In all honesty, I’m beginning to think that some of the novice guilds of today are trying to following in their footsteps.”

Flavio felt a smile of amusement spread across his lips. “Go on, give us a bedtime story.”

Both Lynus and Hrothgar laughed good-naturedly, quite contently really.

And Flavio soon forgot about the howling wind outside, too busy laughing at the stories that Lynus and Hrothgar were telling him in turn. Hrothgar about the strange events he had encountered in the labyrinth and the shocking stupidity of novice explorers, while Lynus told stories about his time at the hospital and humorous situations him and his guildmates had encountered both in and out of the labyrinth.

It was honestly nice spending time like this. Speaking with people Flavio felt understood him. They were both tireless caretakers and Flavio, though he may outwardly dispute it, was indeed the caretaker of his guild. And it was nice speaking with someone who didn’t know about the Fafnir Knight Curse or what was happening at Ginnungagap.

At this very moment, he was…normal. Life was normal. Everything was fine. There was nothing to worry about.

It was…peaceful.

“Are you feeling tired?” Lynus suddenly asked and Flavio turned his head to the side to look up at him, only to immediately notice that Hrothgar had his head resting on Lynus’ shoulder, appearing as if he was asleep. “Maybe you should retire to your room.”

“Hm,” Hrothgar murmured sleepily in reply though made no attempt to actually move. “But it’s so comfortable here.”

_Yeah,_ Flavio thought to himself as his own eyes slipped close. _It really was_.


	18. Beware the Pink Hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe happens to meet a certain pair of pink-haired girls~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just the lead up to some fun shenanigans I have in store for everyone~ Also, I just want to add that I’m not entirely sure how to write from Chloe’s pov so she could be insanely out of character ^^; so do forgive me for that. Anyway, hope you enjoy reading~

Though Chloe herself was neither considered a morning person or a night person, she did enjoy lying in bed and reading whenever she could, be whatever time of day or night. Bertrand, however, liked his sleep. He could nap anytime, anywhere.

So she had to admit that she was suspicious when she heard the sound of Bertrand’s door open and close at an unreasonable hour by his standards. The first time it happened, she figured that he couldn’t sleep for whatever reason and felt like going for a walk. No big deal.

But it happened for the next couple of mornings, too.

She was rightly concerned and wondered if he was having trouble sleeping, which was indeed troubling. But he never seemed out of sorts or disgruntled during the day, no matter where they were. He was the way he had always been.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He seemed more…she couldn’t use the word ‘happier’ but he did seem more at ease. She honestly wasn’t sure how to describe it. He was just acting a little un-Trand like.

So, naturally, she had to know more.

Upon the sound of Bertrand’s bedroom door opening and closing at pretty much the same time as the last few mornings, Chloe slipped on her hat and waited by her own door. She pressed her ear against it and listened as Bertrand’s footsteps moved away, toward the foyer of the inn.

When she could no longer hear him, she slipped from her room and quietly followed in his steps. She reached the stone staircase leading to the reception and peered down from the top step.

The foyer was filled with the usual coming and goings of explorers and visitors. She immediately spied Flavio lingering a few feet away, speaking with both Hrothgar and the orange-haired medic she knew mostly as the Miracle Medic. They were chatting easily with each other, none of them dressed for exploration yet.

Chloe couldn’t help but notice how different Hrothgar looked without his armour.

She also couldn’t help but notice that Bertrand seemed to be heading in their direction. Maybe he was just passing by, heading to the dining room for some coffee or tea?

As he silently drew closer, Hrothgar suddenly made the motion as if he had forgotten something. And as he turned around to most likely head to his room, he bumped straight into Bertrand’s chest as if he hadn’t realised he had been there. He immediately jumped back with a squeak and a red tinge to his cheeks. Bertrand, for his part, looked amused by his reaction as he folded his arms casually over his chest. The slight upturn of his lips gave the indication that he had purposely placed himself in Hrothgar’s path.

…Curious.

Even more intriguing was the fact that he stayed there, speaking with Hrothgar, and occasionally with Flavio and Mr Miracle Medic.

Still, while Bertrand didn’t immediately brush them off and continue to where he was heading, as he usually did, he still was purposely holding himself back from fully engaging in conversation with Hrothgar and the others. He appeared as if he wanted to, but something…something was holding him back.

For as long as Chloe had known him, he had always done that. She didn’t understand why. She couldn’t understand why. And that saddened her, to be truthful.

Chloe was pulled from her thoughts and observations when something pink appeared from the corner of her eye. She turned her head to see the inn-keeper’s daughter walk toward the reception desk. And with her was another, slightly older than her but with similar pink hair and dressed in the garbs of a troubadour.

Quinoa stopped walking and glanced up at the stairs, as if expecting someone and was mildly surprised to see Chloe there instead. “Ah, g-good morning,” she greeted nonetheless.

Chloe straightened her postured and causally walked down the rest of the steps. “Morning.”

The troubadour perched herself atop of the reception desk and swung her legs in a childish manner. “Hey,” she suddenly said with her attention on Chloe.

Chloe glanced over at her as she pushed up her glasses. “Hm?”

“Your guildmate?” she asked as she motioned with her head toward Bertrand’s direction, who of which was now speaking to Hrothgar alone. “The one with the blond hair?”

Chloe felt slightly suspicious and protective, but nodded her head nonetheless. “Yeah.”

“Looks kinda cosy with Hrothgar, doesn’t he?” she unexpectedly asked with a…peculiar grin on her face.

Chloe turned to look once more and found that, yes, he did look comfortable with him actually.

“Hrothgar looks flustered,” Quinoa added, with was also unexpected and surprising.

And that was true, too.

Was Hrothgar the reason Bertrand had been getting earlier than he usually did?

Though, honestly, she was more curious as to why these two girls seemed so interested in Bertrand and Hrothgar.

“You may have heard of me,” the troubadour said in a somewhat haughty manner as she flicked on of her pigtails over her shoulder. “The name’s Binah, Matchmaker Extraordinaire.”

Oh, she had heard of her alright.

The corner of Chloe’s mouth twitched into a half smirk. “Your name is synonymous with fear.”

Binah laughed and smiled widely. “I know, right?”

From the stories she had overheard, Chloe wasn’t all that surprised by her response. “Matchmaker, huh? What is it that you do?”

“The usual cliché stuff,” Binah answered easily as she began to count off of her fingers. “Locked them in a closet together, send flowers under to one with the other's name, cover one of their beds with rose petals and have them both walk into the room at the same time. The usual.”

The usual, huh? Chloe couldn’t quite see how they would work, though. “Clichés don't work for a reason.”

Binah made a sound that was a mixture of a scoff and a laugh. “Oh, we're not using them because they might work. We know they don't.”

That answer was a little surprising. “So why?”

Surprisingly, it was Quinoa who answered. And she did so with a small smile. “To scare them.”

Chloe blinked at her in confusion. “Hm?”

Quinoa giggled cutely as she idly swung her arms at her sides and rocked back and forth on her feet. “They’re clichés because everyone knows them. So they know what we're trying to do.”

“Exactly,” Binah cut in before Chloe had to chance to fully process Quinoa’s words and she turned to look over at the pink haired troubadour to find her waving her finger smugly.

“Put the fear of god into them,” she continued. “Make them realise that there are scarier and more humiliating things to experience other than confessing their feelings to their crush.”

Chloe felt the corner of her mouth twitch in a half smirk once more. “…Heh,” she uttered as she turned to look over in Bertrand’s direction to see that he was still speaking with Hrothgar. It was surprisingly, but reassuring in a way. And kinda suspicious.

“You know…” Binah suddenly drawled which prompted Chloe to turn her attention back to her once more. “I’ve heard a few things about your guild. And a certain restaurant.”

Chloe arched an eyebrow at her. “Hm?”

The expression on Binah’s face was nothing short of mischievous. “You need customers for your restaurant, right? I could…arrange something.”

Chloe immediately noticed the subtle undertone of her words. “Arrange as in deceiving a few certain potential couples into visiting?”

Binah stuck out her tongue at her before cheekily winking. “I prefer giving them a much needed push,” she said before she hopped down from the reception counter and twirled in a carefree manner into the centre of the inn’s foyer, completely at ease with everyone and everything around her. “A candlelight dinner, a table set for two; could anything be more romantic? So what if they don’t know it’s a couple’s only thing? What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

Chloe snorted lightly to cover up a chuckle. Well, one couldn’t really argue with that logic, could they?

“So what do you say?” Binah asked as she planted her hands on her hips.

Hmm…well, the café did indeed need paying customers. So what if most of them don’t know the true reason of their visit? Food would be cooked and paid for, people see explorers entering and leaving, word spreads, more customers visit. And, if they were lucky, get an adorable spectacle of the potential couples freaking out at all the romantic atmosphere. It was a win-win situation really.

“Sounds fun,” Chloe replied to the grinning troubadour.

… … … … …

After a quick visit to the labyrinth to retrieve some ingredients for Regina, they had returned to the restaurant to relax for lunch before heading out again. And Chloe had perched herself on a stool near the breakfast counter and waited. Her insistence on returning just before lunch and to park herself alone at the counter drew her many confused and concerned looks from her guildmates. Justified, really.

She didn’t explain anything to them, though. No, she wanted them to see what she was up too.

She was waiting for certain pair of pink-haired girls to visit.

From where she was sitting, she had a good view of Regina working in the kitchen. At first the chef was ignoring her, no doubt assuming she was impatiently waiting for her to cook something with lots of meat. But as minutes ticked by and Chloe didn’t order anything, she was starting to get suspicious and prickly.

Soon enough, she paused in what she was cooking and confronted her. “Are you going to sit there staring at me all day?” she finally asked.

“No,” Chloe replied casually. To be honest, it was cute how she was unnerved by her presence and silence.

Regina didn’t believe her and gave her a sideways glance. “Then what are you doing?”

“Waiting.”

“For who?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

That resulted in Regina looking even more unnerved.

Chloe felt herself smirk when the bell above the door of the café chimed and the sound of two pairs of feet making their way over to her. She casually pushed up her glasses as the stools on either side of her were pulled out and promptly occupied.

Her smirk widened just a fraction when she heard Flavio squeak something from the corner of the café, no doubt recognising the notorious Matchmaker Extraordinaire.

Whether Regina knew of her was unclear, but she did seem taken aback by the abrupt appearance of the Pinkettes, her gaze darting between the three of them. She wasn’t exactly unnerved, but definitely highly suspicious.

“Can…I help you three?” Regina seemed unable to stop herself from asking.

“H-hello,” Quinoa squeaked in response but held the chef’s gaze nonetheless.

“The name’s Binah,” the young troubadour introduced without a hint of trepidation. “And this is Quinoa, nice to meetcha.”

“Ah, you too…?” Regina muttered in response, sounding as confused as she looked as she quickly turned her attention to Chloe directly.

“They’re friends,” Chloe said simply, her amusement growing when she heard Flavio splutter something in the distance.

“So I heard you need customers,” Binah abruptly stated as she leaned her elbows casually on top of the bar.

Regina blinked. “Y-yeah, well-”

“I might be able to help with that,” Binah interrupted with a mischievous grin.

Regina immediately looked suspicious and sceptical. “Oh, really? How so?”

“Uh ah. Not telling,” Binah said as she wagged her finger in Regina’s face, surprising the chef immensely. “I just need a bit of cooperation from you.”

Regina flushed as she huffed with indignation. “Excuse me? I’m not taking orders from you.”

Binah wasn’t remotely frightened by the prickly cook. “You will if you want paying customers~” she stated in a singsong voice.

Regina was shocked into silence and her gaze abruptly turned back to Chloe, to look at her in completely bewilderment.

“It should be fun,” Chloe said simply as Quinoa giggled cutely and Binah sniggered mischievously.

“…I’m a little worried about what you three would find fun,” Regina muttered as a subtle expression of unease and maybe even fear appeared on her face.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Binah said in a not all that comforting way. “You’ll find out.”

Chloe wasn’t entirely sure, but it was almost as if Regina was starting to break out into a cold sweat. “Er…I’ve got a kitchen to run,” she muttered before she turned around and all but fled into her kitchen.

So, seemed that even Regina had heard of the Pinkettes. Chloe couldn’t help but wonder what kind of trouble and mayhem they had already caused. Oh, she’d probably find out one day. Onto more pressing matters though.

“So,” Binah started as she rested her elbow on the counter and turned her attention toward both Chloe and Quinoa. “Who should our first victim be?”

Quinoa reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. It was surprisingly large as she unfolded it. “U-um, maybe we should start with Axel and Lynus?” she suggested.

Binah huffed slightly and batted as a strand of her hair. “No good, they’re romantic wherever they are and if we send the others to the same restaurant, they might get suspicious.”

Chloe thought back to what she had witnessed that morning and her glasses glinted under the subtle lighting of the café. It was really the only way. Trand was going to find someone that makes him truly happy. Whether he wanted it or not.

“I have an idea…” Chloe murmured.

“Go on,” Binah quickly encouraged.

“Well…”


	19. By Candlelight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bertrand stood before a candlelit table set for two. And his date was being dragged in all but kicking and screaming…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairings: Bertrand/Hrothgar
> 
> AN: Usually, I like to keep a cliffhanger hanging for a few more days, but I thought I’d be merciful :3c Hope you enjoy~

Bertrand was suspicious.

Highly, highly suspicious.

And the sight before him was the culprit.

In the far corner of the restaurant, in front of a window leading to a small but dense garden sat a small, round table built for two. A white tablecloth with rich red and gold embroidery draped over the table meticulously, with fine crystal glasses filled with no doubt wine and plates of delicious smelling food. The three small candles within the centre of the table cast the area in a golden, ambient light, which flickered every once in a while from the gentle breeze cascading through the open window, bathing the area in a rich flora scent from the abundance of flowers outside. With the half-moon high in the sky and the night well and truly fallen, the ambience was still and serene.

It was honestly beautiful.

It was also romantic.

Which was why Bertrand was suspicious.

“So, care to tell me why I’m the one who is to sit here?” he asked as he turned away from the romantic setting to stare down at the little war magus who had all but pushed him toward said table set for two. “Alone?”

“Because I told you to,” Chloe replied with a pout as she pushed up her glasses. “And you won’t be alone.”

He was afraid of that.

There was also a hell of a lot more to it than that. And he was pretty sure it had everything to do with those two other pink-haired that showed up suddenly. Yeah, the Pinkettes. He had heard of them. And he had been warned to keep a wary eye out for them. Who would have guess that Chloe would choose to run with the wrong crowd? Ah, but she had always been a subtle shit-stirrer herself. She would be in her element with those two.

The three of them together must be rather…potent, for a lack of a better word, if they managed to pull Regina into helping them. They had to be. And if they pulled her into this unwillingly, which signs were pointing to as the chef was huffing and puffing in the kitchen in an frazzled manner, they were even more formable than rumour had painted them to be.

So…what to do?

Suppose the better question would be who was his supposed ‘date’? And how were they going to be dragged into this?

The sound of the café door opening abruptly pulled Bertrand out of his musings and he turned to look out of habit. He had to do a double take, however, when the one who had entered wasn’t that of the usual variety.

And he couldn’t help but realise that his ‘date’ was to be dragged into this damn near kicking and screaming.

Dressed in casual clothing, Hrothgar was draped over Zeryn’s shoulder, the tall highlander keeping him in place with one arm, completely and utterly unfazed by Hrothgar’s struggling. Even as Hrothgar kicked his legs and seemed to be hitting him on the back with his hands.

“What are you doing?! Put me down! What has gotten into you?!” Hrothgar all but shrilled.

And Zeryn all but ignored him as he readjusted Hrothgar to sit a little higher on his shoulder before he yelled into the mostly empty restaurant. “Aye, I ave a delivery for Bertrand!”

Bertrand arched an eyebrow and had to bite the inside of his mouth when Hrothgar abruptly ceased in his struggling and made a sound that was similar to a squeak. “W-what?” he stammered as he lifted his head up to look at his surroundings and Bertrand could all but feel his utter embarrassment when he realised where he was.

“Fufufufu~” Chloe chuckled ominously as she walked away from Bertrand and toward the kitchen, and as she passed Zeryn, she jabbed her thumb over her shoulder. “Over there.”

“Aye,” Zeryn replied, seeming unfazed that he was virtually being ordered around and happily headed in Bertrand’s direction with Hrothgar still balanced on his shoulder.

“Can you put me down now?” Hrothgar asked meekly, but surprisingly cutely all the same.

Zeryn grinned widely and honestly very mischievously before he made the motion to lean forward to allow Hrothgar to finally take to his own feet.

“Catch,” Zeryn suddenly said and Bertrand instinctively took on a protective stance as Zeryn practically swung Hrothgar off of his shoulder and planted him into Bertrand’s subconsciously waiting arms.

Bertrand obviously wasn’t expecting to have Hrothgar literally dropped into his arms, but he managed to keep a hold of the other man, preventing him from falling to the floor. He had to quickly readjust his grip, though, and unintentionally pulled Hrothgar tighter against his chest in such a way that it appeared that he was cradling him, curling him closer to him.

Having not made a sound through the entire thing, Hrothgar finally uttered a gasp of surprise and sprung up a fraction, his body tensing. And he grasped at Bertrand’s shoulders in a desperate attempt to steady or ground himself. But as he did so, he unwittingly moved his face closer to Bertrand’s and their noses brushed lightly against one another’s.

“Oh,” Hrothgar whispered as his eyes widened and stared directly into Bertrand’s, almost as if he was in a trance. Or was simply so surprised that he didn’t know what to say or do and just became still out of instinct.

Bertrand couldn’t say he was any better. There was no witty retort on the tip of his tongue. No urge to smirk. Nothing like that at all. All he could do was to stare back as well. And notice the dim lighting of the candles seemed to deepen his chocolate brown eyes.

The sound of Zeryn laughing obnoxiously loudly as he turned on his heel and walked away pulled the two of them out of their trance like state. Hrothgar promptly blushed a deep red as he turned his face away from Bertrand’s to look at the floor, inexplicably keeping his hands on Bertrand’s shoulders and making no attempt to remove himself from his arms. Even more mysteriously, neither did Bertrand.

“See ya later!” Zeryn called out to anyone who was listening and promptly left through the front door, letting it clatter noisily behind him.

“Sorry,” Hrothgar murmured after a silent more as he finally and hastily pushed himself out of Bertrand’s arms and to his feet. “T-thank you for catching me, but sorry a-all the same.”

“Nothing you could help,” Bertrand replied, finally able to find his own voice and wit.

Hrothgar flashed him an embarrassed smile as he set about trying to smooth down his hair while also calm his frazzled nerves. “Ah, yes. Flavio warned me that Chloe made friends with the Pinkettes,” he said before he trailed off to speak under his breath. “I wasn’t expecting them to come after me first, though…”

Bertrand folded his arms over his chest. He honestly was a little surprised himself that Chloe would choose to play matchmaker for him, matching him with Hrothgar. Although she had always been the mischievous, cunning type, so not even he knew what she was thinking and planning all the time. Bertrand supposed he should be grateful that she chose to match him with someone reasonable, someone he knew, and not some stranger who was all looks and no character.

He was also genuinely relieved that they didn’t do the same to Hrothgar. He was a sweet and lovable guy, after all, and Bertrand was sure that he had more than his fair share of admirers. Some, no doubt, with less than honourable intentions.

Never mind that now. There were two important questions they needed to find answers to. How far Chloe was willing to play matchmaker and what it would take to get her, and those infamous Pinkettes, to leave them alone?

“Any way to weasel our way out of this?” Bertrand asked with a surprisingly humorous tone.

Hrothgar uttered a small laugh at the question before he winced and shook his head. “Only one, really.”

“And that is…?” Bertrand prompted him to continue.

The blush Hrothgar had sported before returned softly and he scratched his cheek. “To get into a relationship…”

Bertrand couldn’t say that was at all surprising. “And faking one wouldn’t work?”

Hrothgar looked genuinely surprised by the question and tilted his head to the side in thought. “I…don’t think so.”

Bertrand shrugged idly. “Just an idea.”

“Hm, yes, of course,” Hrothgar replied politely as he righted himself. “Anything at this point I suppose.”

“The best thing we can do at this point is to simply go along with it,” Bertrand said as he glanced over his shoulder toward the kitchen, only to find Chloe at the bar watching him like a hawk.

She wasn’t watching out of sadistic glee, not entirely at least, but to ensure that neither of them made a run for it. If she managed to get Zeryn to happily carry Hrothgar over his shoulder, through the city and into the café, he was fairly certain she, not the mention the other two Pinkettes, had the expertise to create an even more embarrassing method to pull two people into a date.

“Let’s just sit down and get something to eat,” Bertrand continued as he pulled out a chair, only to leave it and pull out the second chair to plonk himself down upon. “If we’re lucky, they’ll be content with that for now.”

Hrothgar gave him a small, bashful smile as he idly brushed a strand of his hair from his eyes and lowered himself into the seat Bertrand had pulled out. “Yes, I suppose so. It honestly could have been a lot worse.”

Bertrand, however, felt a frown tug at his lips when he noticed a white plaster bandage just under Hrothgar’s hairline, hidden behind the thick bangs of his hair. “What’s this?” he found himself asking the moment Hrothgar settled himself down into his seat and he lifted a hand to brush aside the hair so that he could get a better look.

“Oh, that?” Hrothgar said as he lifted his own hand, which subtly brushed against Bertrand’s own before he gently pushed his hand away. “It’s nothing. Just a minor graze left over from what happened yesterday. A rookie guild thought they could defeat a raptor without preparation. I found myself getting involved rather quickly.”

For some inexplicable reason, Bertrand felt a surge of protectiveness rush through him, along with the urge to ask the seasonal protector to leave the rookies be and stop putting himself into danger because of them. He was more important to the longevity of the city and future guilds than those brainless rookies who made careless and reckless mistakes.

But Bertrand managed to bite his tongue. It wasn’t any of his business what Hrothgar chose to do with his time in the labyrinth. So…

“You received a head injury?” he unwittingly asked.

Hrothgar gave him another somewhat sheepish smile. “Only a graze,” he insisted. “No fractures or a concussion, so there’s nothing to worry about. That guild managed to get away as well with only a few injuries of their own.”

“Is that so?” Bertrand murmured as he lifted his drink to his lips and took a slow, drawn out sip.

He had to remind himself that, no, there was no need to hunt down that guild and give them a stern talking to. They’ve probably already learnt their lesson. There was no need to be that protective of another.

“You weren’t thinking of putting the fear of god into them, too, were you?” Hrothgar unexpectedly asked.

“Why would you ask that?” Bertrand returned as he lowered his drink back to the table.

Hrothgar shrugged lightly as he reached for his own drink. “You just had a fiercely protective look on your face for a moment.”

Bertrand unconsciously relaxed his features, only to feel the corner of his lips twitch into a half smirk when he heard Hrothgar chuckle under his breath at his reaction. “You’ve seen a few protective grimaces in your time?”

“Oh yes,” Hrothgar replied. “I’ve even worn a few myself.”

“Even so, you’re more important than any of those rookies,” Bertrand found himself stating before he could consider his words. “Make sure to put yourself first sometimes.”

Hrothgar blushed lightly as he turned his gaze toward the open window. His eyes soften into an indescribable warmth as he brought his wine glass to his lips and took a slow sip. He seemed…subtly thrilled by Bertrand’s comment.

For his part, Bertrand found himself gazing at the redhead himself. The way the candlelight shone in his eyes, the way the shadows danced across his skin, the ambience of the night; he really was quite beautiful.

“This isn’t so bad,” Hrothgar whispered softly.

Bertrand could only utter a word of agreement. “Yeah.”

Good food, good drinks, good company; yeah, it wasn’t all that bad actually. Oh he was sure the Pinkettes had other things planned, this was just a test to see what they could do or not do in a public restaurant.

He truly pitied the poor fools that were the Pinkettes’ next targets.


	20. This Can’t Be Normal…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flavio had just wanted to ask Lynus how scared he should be about Chloe making friends with the Pinkettes. He was not expecting to be crash-tackled and forced to hide in a bathroom with a skittish gunner and a survivalist he didn't even know...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out a bit longer than anticipated. Don’t take this too seriously ^^ I just felt the need to write something light-hearted and fun, so I hope you enjoy reading~

Flavio ascended the stone stairs to the second floor of the inn. He knew that Lynus’ room was located a few doors down from the stairs, and he wanted to ask the medic a few quick questions about…a certain group of pink-haired girls.

As a survivalist, he felt it was important to get a handle on what he should expect to deal with. It probably won’t help with the humiliation factor, but he should at least have some kind of idea what to expect, right? And maybe he could get some tips on how to avoid them?

The sound of pounding feet, akin to someone running or in a desperate hurry, pulled Flavio from his musings and caused him to lift his head up to look in front of him. A blur of someone wearing a forest green coat skidded around the corner, somehow managing to stay upright despite their speed and sudden change of direction, and immediately returned to a sprint.

They made eye contact and Flavio vaguely recognised him as the Guardians’ gunner, Macerio, before Macerio suddenly skidded to a stop next to him and…

Flavio felt the wind knocked out of him when Macerio literally crash-tackled him around the waist. His back hit something behind him, a partially open door probably, with a loud thud and he landed on the floor with an equally loud crash. He uttered a loud ‘oof!’ when something landed on top of him.

The weight atop of him abruptly vanished and Flavio drew in a sharp breath of air as the sound of a door slamming shut rung through his ears. He stared up at the ceiling for a moment as he lay sprawled on the floor with his arms outstretched on either side of him.

Ok, first; ow! Second; what the hell?!

Flavio sat up and clutched his stomach as he stared in utter bewilderment at the brown haired gunner who was frantically engaging the lock on the door. "W-what are you-?" he wheezed.

"Shhh!" Macerio hissed at him as he pressed his back against the door and tilted to the side as if to hear whatever could be on the other side. "She's coming."

Flavio was about to ask who would be so feared that Macerio would crash-tackle him through a partially open door and into god know who's room when he heard a soft tinkling of...bells? Wait, he had heard that sound somewhere before. What was it…?

“Macerio~”

Ah, that was right. Binah. She had chased Macerio through the inn when he had first encountered the gunner. Who of which dove into his room to find shelter. Did he have the habit of ducking through any partially open door he came across in his desperate attempt to avoid the pink-haired troubadour? Ok, sure, Flavio could kinda understand his fear, especially now that Chloe seemed to have made friends with Binah, but wasn’t crashing into someone else’s room rude? Not to mention dangerous?

…Maybe that was a risk he was willing to take?

Good god, what kind of trouble was Chloe going to be dragging their guild through now?

“Macerio~ Come out, come out, wherever you are~”

That sounded more haunting and scary than he thought possible, especially coming from a young girl.

Despite being incredulous of how dangerous the situation truly was, Flavio unexpectedly found himself holding his breath in fright as well when that scarily cheery voice and tinkling of bells suddenly stopped just outside the door.

“Hmmmmmmmm,” came an ominously drawn out hum before followed by a loud, disgruntled huff. “He’s not here. Ugh, so rude! Whatever, he’s gotta come out of hiding eventually!”

Macerio winced and covered his head with his hands as he cowered, and Flavio couldn’t help but grimace in sympathy for the gunner.

“Chloe? Your guildmate is around here somewhere, right?”

Flavio felt his eyes widen as he subconsciously tensed. Chloe? She was out there, too?

“Yup, Flavio should be close by.”

Gah, she was out there, too! Wait, him? She was going after him?!

“He’ll be our next victim, then~” came a girly giggle.

Victim?! She wasn’t even attempting to hide her evil plans for him!

Flavio was torn between feeling utterly bewildered and utterly terrified as he sat numbly on the floor, listening to the sound of footsteps and tinkling bells as they faded from hearing range. Finally, he couldn’t hear a thing. Only silence.

Macerio breathed out a huge sigh of relief and slump against the door. “That was too close…” he muttered under his breath.

Now that the, ah, _threat_ was gone, Flavio’s ribs and stomach started to ache, and he rubbed them subconsciously as he turned a pointed gaze at the gunner. “Look, I know she’s scary, but was this really necessary?”

Macerio immediately sat up straight and bristled as he pointed a finger in his direction. “You should be thanking me! They were after you, too!”

Yeah, well, his back and ribs weren’t feeling too thankful at the moment.

“Thanking you?!” Flavio shrilled and bristled at the same time. “You literally crash-tackled me into someone else’s room and probably fractured a rib or two in the process!” He then paused when he realised that, yes, they were indeed in someone else’s room.

Oh crap…

“W-whose room are we in anyway?” he asked as he subconsciously hunched his shoulders, almost afraid to look around in case he found someone standing just behind him looking utterly pissed.

“Ours,” a familiar voice unexpectedly answered.

Macerio immediately perked up at the sound of the voice and his gaze turned to look over Flavio’s shoulder. “Lynus?” he questioned before he sagged against the door in utter relief. “Axel, oh thank god.”

Flavio quickly turned to look over his shoulder as well to find his gaze locking on with that of a familiar violet-eyed medic. He had to admit that he also felt a surge of relief upon seeing Lynus smile at him with friendly amusement.

He wasn’t alone, though. Axel was there, too. Though there were two beds in the room, they were both occupying the one. Axel was sprawled out on his back atop of the bedsheets with a couple of pillows propped up behind his head. And Lynus sat on the edge of the bed, close to the bedhead and were Axel was lying. He was curled slightly towards him and it wouldn’t be hard to imagine that Lynus had been previously running his fingers through Axel’s hair.

Flavio couldn’t help but notice just how…comfortable yet intimate they looked together.

Lynus suddenly tilted his head to the side, regarding Flavio with a sense of curiosity. “You all right there, Flavio?”

“A-ah, yeah,” Flavio replied stiffly before he gave the medic an embarrassed smile and shifted to face him fully, but still sat on the floor nonetheless. “Wasn’t expecting to be tackled like that, but other than that, I’m fine.”

“That certainly was an interesting entrance,” Axel commented as he peered at them through one eye, a half smirk of pure amusement on his lips.

Macerio managed to flush and bristle at the same time. “Yeah, w-well, desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Both Lynus and Axel laughed softly, but good-heartedly nonetheless and Flavio couldn’t help but marvel at how easy-going the two were. If a guildmate tackled someone into his room before slamming the door shut in a panic, he would be asking a million questions and demanding swift answers. Something like that didn’t happen every day!

No, wait, maybe it did for the Guardians?

“You're welcome to hide out here,” Lynus said with a knowing smile before he shook his head slightly. “But please keep your voices down. Axel has a headache.”

Macerio quickly stood to his feet and pushed away from the door to walk into the centre of the room. “What happened?” he asked with genuine but subtle concern as he looked over at Axel on the bed.

Lynus smiled reassuringly as his hand sought out to play with the red strands of Axel’s hair. “Zeryn and Simmons had a bet to see who could ride a raptor the furthest.”

Flavio honestly found himself deadpanning at the explanation. Really?

Axel grunted in pure disgruntlement and a scowl appeared on his face. “I will murder those two one day, I swear it.”

“Yes, yes,” Lynus chuckled softly as he turned his full attention toward the red-haired landsknecht and began to soothingly run his fingers through his hair. “You can murder them after you've gotten some sleep and rid yourself of this headache.”

Flavio felt as though he was intruding (which, technically, he was), but he was also somewhat fascinated by the gentle but strong bond that Lynus and Axel shared. There was no nervous jittering, no awkward or shy smiles or conversations. They were so comfortable, relaxed with one another, uncaring of who or what was in the room with them.

…Could he reach that level of comfort with Fafnir…?

Flavio shook his head violently to rid himself of that train of thought and cleared his throat in a desperate attempt to prevent those feelings of frustration and disappointment from rising in his chest.

“Quick question; how screwed am I really now that Chloe has made fast friends with the Pinkettes?” Flavio asked bluntly as he looked at the two on the bed.

Lynus blinked at him before he shared a glance with Axel and then the two of them simultaneously looked at him with nothing but pity in their gazes. “...You'll be in our prayers,” Lynus said.

Flavio’s shoulders drooped in defeat. “I was afraid of that.”

A strange sound, like that of a grunt of exertion, suddenly rung through the room. They all fell silent as they glanced around, sharing confused glances. Axel suddenly sat up and abruptly pulled Lynus toward him, manoeuvring him over his lap to the other side of the bed, where he pressed him against the wall. He then slid off the bed, purposely positioning himself between Lynus and the open window.

Flavio felt a bubble of alarm in his chest, brought on by Axel’s reaction. He was about to take to his feet as well when someone hastily, and rather swiftly, scrambled in through the window from outside and practically threw themselves into the room.

Wait, weren’t they on the second floor?

“Ryker?” Axel questioned before he sighed and slumped back down onto the bed, immediately relaxing his defensive stance, and clutched at his forehead in an agitated manner. “The fuck, man?”

The man with blue hair and dressed in the garbs that were similar to that of a survivalist, scrambled across the table that was situated under the window and skittishly backed away. “Only window that was open,” he said as he clutched at his left elbow as if it was painful in some way.

Lynus sighed as he noticeable relaxed and scooted away from the wall. Instead of sitting on the edge of the bed like he had done before, he positioned himself onto his knees and leaned against Axel’s back, his arms slipping around Axel’s neck comfortably and rested his cheek on his shoulder. A small smile found its way onto Axel’s lips and he lazily tilted his head to the side to nuzzle his cheek against Lynus’ hair.

…They were _really_ comfortable around each other, weren’t they?

“Are you hiding from Darrell again?” Lynus asked idly to the survivalist.

The survivalist (Ryker was it?) winced and tightened his grip on his elbow. “Yeah, well, you know what he’s like with me. Too damn protective for his own good. For heaven’s sake, it’s a grazed elbow. Ok, so I entered the labyrinth alone, but it was to the first floor! Christ, can’t I even do that?”

“Dude, no good hiding here,” Macerio suddenly said, cutting the man off mid rant. “Binah's circling outside like a FOE.”

“Oh course, perfect, just what I needed. Shouldn’t have gotten out of bed today,” Ryker mumbled. “Speaking of bed, if Darrell gets his hands on me, he’s likely to tie me to the bed again.”

“So didn’t need to hear that…”

Flavio was stunned into silence once more. D-did this kind of thing happen often around here? Or…just around the Guardians themselves?

“Ryker!” a voice suddenly bellowed from outside the window. “I know you’re in there somewhere!”

Ryker jumped a foot in the air before he lurched forward to hide away from the window and darted behind Flavio. “Oh shit oh shit oh shit!” he muttered aloud under his breath.

“Macerio! I will find you, I swear to god I will!”

Macerio also jumped a good foot in the air before he, too, started to panic. “Why won’t she leave me alone?” he whimpered.

“The bathroom,” Lynus unexpectedly said around a chuckle.

“Right!”

The next thing Flavio knew he was in the bathroom, crouched on the floor with his back against the door of the room with a survivalist he didn't know on the right of him and a gunner who was all but trembling in fear to the left of him.

Definitely _not_ how he imagined his day would turn out when he got out of bed this morning.

Why was he even here?

The blue-haired survivalist next to him suddenly stuck out his hand to him, as if he wanted to introduce himself with a handshake or something. “Ryker,” he said simply.

Choosing to simply go with the flow despite the absurdity of the entire situation, Flavio shook his hand and introduced himself in turn. “Flavio.”

Ryker gave his hand a firm shake before releasing it to cradle his elbow again. “What you in for?”

Unexpectedly, Flavio felt a wry smile slip across his lips at the question. “Teammate teamed up with the Pinkettes and seems to be on a matchmaking frenzy.”

_“Dude.”_ The way Ryker said that, it was filled with nothing but sympathy and empathy.

Despite just how ludicrous everything was, Flavio felt a chuckle of genuine amusement bubble up from his chest. “Yeah.”

“I'd rather deal with Darrell than those girls.”

“They've already got Hrothgar.”

“No one is safe, huh?”

A sharp knock on the door of Lynus and Axel’s room caused the three of them to plunge into a sudden silence. Flavio felt both Macerio and Ryker tense on either side of him, and he found himself briefly wondering just what he had done in life to result in him hiding in a bathroom of someone else’s room. Who did he manage to piss off to get to this point?

“Hello, Darrell,” Lynus was heard greeting after he opened the door.

“Where is he?” a gruff voice asked.

“Who?”

“You know who.”

Ryker grabbed the brim of his hat and pulled it down over his face. “That’s Darrell’s voice,” he muttered.

“I thought you said you're rather deal with Darrell?” Flavio couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Not when I don't have to,” Ryker retorted sharply in response. “He's a decent guy normally, if know-it-all asshole, but he's dangerous when he's in doctor-healer mode.”

He must be if Ryker was desperate enough to climb in through someone’s second story bedroom window and hide in their bathroom.

“Tell that idiot that hiding is only delaying the inevitable,” the voice that must belong to Darrell said sternly. “I will not hesitate to tie him to the bed again.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that,” Lynus said in a pacifying manner before there was the sound of the door to his room falling shut and the lock engaged.

Well, one down, right?

“How long are we expected to hide here?” Flavio asked as he looked over at the gunner to his side.

“For as long as it takes,” Macerio replied bitterly, but with a strong sense of stubbornness all the same.

Oh, joy…He better find a way out (without it resulting in pure humiliation) before Fafnir came looking for him. That would lead to a different type of embarrassment.

There was another sudden knock at the bedroom door, softer this time, but they all fell into a tense silence nonetheless.

“Are they all hiding in here?” a somewhat familiar voice asked, causing Macerio to perk up and utter a sound of relief. “Binah's helping Hanna in the kitchen, Darrell has been called back to the hospital, and the one named Chloe has wandered back to the restaurant with her guild.”

Macerio abruptly jumped to his feet and threw open the door of the bathroom. And Flavio and Ryker followed, Flavio sheepishly, while Ryker still appeared skittish. Macerio immediately flung his arms around Lirit’s neck, the orange haired troubadour only partly surprised, but patted his back in a sympathetic manner as Macerio mumbled into his shoulder.

“Best make your escapes while you can,” Axel said idly as he flopped himself back down onto his bed.

That sounded like a good idea.

Though, he…was reluctant to tell Fafnir and the others what had transpired here. He certainly wasn’t going to tell Chloe.

Instead of approaching the door like the rest of them, Ryker chose the window. “Good luck, boys,” he said as he gave them a quick salute before he clambered through window and disappeared from view.

…What’s the deal with explorers and windows around here?

As Lirit guided a still skittish Macerio out of the room with an arm around his waist, Lynus turned his attention to Flavio and gave him a soft, but somewhat amused smile.

“Like for me to escort you back to your room?” he unexpectedly asked.

For a moment, Flavio felt indignant. It was bad enough that he had been crash-tackled into Lynus’ room without warning and then forced to hide in his bathroom, but asking the kind medic to actually be his bodyguard to protect him from a small group of pink-haired girls was beyond humiliating. He was a trained survivalist, for heaven’s sake. An explorer and a member of the Midgard Library. He could handle himself. No need to drag Lynus into it.

However...

“J-just for insurance, yeah?”


	21. Comfort and Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lynus has a sprained ankle and Flavio takes it upon himself to care for the care-taker~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairings: Platonic Flavio and Lynus <3
> 
> AN: I probably would have had this finished sooner if it weren't for my two cats deciding that they both wanted to sleep on my lap at the same time. And I couldn't persuade them to move :I Once again, this turned out slightly longer than expected. Honestly, these two as friends just kill me. They’re so fluffy~ So, I hope you enjoy reading!

Flavio lugged the street sign advertising for the café out onto the front pathway. It was early morning but it was promising to be a beautiful day, so the streets were quickly becoming full with locals and explorers alike.

Propping the sign up, he crouched down to write down the names of a few specials. He went for the ones that didn’t sound too, well, exotic for a lack of a better term. As he scribbled the first title, he habitually glanced around at his surroundings and inexplicably a certain tangerine haired medic caught his attention.

He was a little surprised to see that Lynus was out wandering the streets so early in the morning. Well, wandering wasn’t the right word. He appeared to be tiredly stumbling through the steadily growing busy streets. Had he been called to the hospital yet again?

Flavio pushed himself to his feet and debated with himself whether he should call out to Lynus or let him continue on his way, which was hopefully to the inn.

As Flavio was debating what he should do, he watched as a burly man brushed past Lynus rather aggressively, seemingly in a hurry to get somewhere, and sent the slender medic lurching to the side in surprise. He barely managed to stay on his feet before he slipped into the gutter running alongside the road and crashed onto the ground painfully hard, his bag thankfully not spilling its contents when it fell next to him. As Lynus laid there on his side, appearing stunned and winded, the guy who all but walked into him continued on his way, completely unconcerned. Not even looking back.

Flavio immediately forgot what he was doing and raced across the street to where Lynus was slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. “Are you ok?” he found himself asking stupidly as he crouched next to him.

Lynus glanced up at him, appearing stunned by what had just happened. “I, yeah,” he muttered dazedly. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

That wasn’t true. The guy walked into him.

“The jerk still could have stopped,” he muttered as he slipped an arm around Lynus’ shoulders. His brow soon furrowed with concern when he heard little utter a small sound of pain and clutched at his right ankle, the one he painfully rolled when he fell. “What is it? Your ankle?”

Lynus pressed his lips together tightly and nodded his head. He uttered a sigh as he lifted his right hand to reveal a bloody graze to the palm of his hand. “It’s been one of those days today…And it’s not even lunch time yet.”

It was only breakfast time, but Flavio wasn’t going to point that out.

“We’ve all been there,” Flavio said in a hopefully comforting manner as he tightened his arm around Lynus’ shoulders and pulled him a little closer toward him. “Here, let me help. Were you heading to the inn?”

A grimace of pain appeared on Lynus’s face as he tried to find the best way to position himself in order to slowly make his way to his feet. “Yes, was sent home from the hospital early.”

Sent home? Did something happen there?

Never mind that.

“The café is just across the road,” Flavio as he glanced over his shoulder to see that Fafnir had stepped out, most likely in search for him as he was taking too long with the sign. He then turned his attention back to Lynus and gave him a reassuring smile. “Let’s get you there and get some ice on that ankle of yours.”

A small but sheepish smile finally made its way onto Lynus’ lips. “I don’t want to give you any trouble,” he said as he idly reached for his medical bag.

“Nonsense,” Flavio immediately responded good-naturedly.

“What’s going on?” came Fafnir’s voice from behind Flavio.

“Hey, Faf,” Flavio immediately said as Fafnir approached the stand next to him. “Some jerk bumped into Lynus and caused him to fall. Take his bag for me.”

Wordlessly, Fafnir reached out to take the strap of Lynus’ bag, the medic reluctant to relinquish his hold but allowed for him to take it and sling it over his shoulder.

Flavio kept his arm around Lynus’ shoulders while he quickly slipped his other arm under his knees. He then took to his feet, picking Lynus up off the ground and holding him in his arms. Lynus immediately uttered a sound of sheer surprise and meekly grasped onto Flavio’s shoulders. “W-wha…?”

Flavio, however, couldn’t help but allow a small frown to tug on his lips. He had expected a bit of resistance when he picked Lynus up. He knew how short and slender the medic was, he wasn’t expecting him to be this…light.

“Wow, you’re so light,” he found himself uttering without much thought.

Though he had a light dusting of red on his cheeks, Lynus pouted at him. “Why does everyone say that…?”

Flavio couldn’t help but smile at his response and without another word, turned to carry Lynus into the café. As he turned, however, his gaze collided with that of Fafnir’s and he looked…disgruntled?

Flavio arched an eyebrow at him but didn’t question him. Instead he continued on his way to the café. The door was thankfully open, propped that way to allow for the fresh morning breeze to filter in.

“There’s no need to go this far,” Lynus murmured at him but he had a small embarrassed smile nonetheless. “But thank you anyway.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Flavio said as he carried him effortlessly into the café. He couldn’t help but briefly wonder if he could talk Lynus into eating something before he left.

“Well, kid,” came with Bertrand’s drawl. “I’m surprised. You don’t seem the type to literally sweep someone off his feet.”

Flavio frowned and bristled as he turned to find Bertrand leaning against the breakfast bar, a curiously amused expression on his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Flavio shot back. “Lynus twisted his ankle and can’t walk on it. What else was I supposed to do?”

Bertrand arched an eyebrow at him. “Hm, I guess so,” he simply said before his gaze unexpectedly flickered to over Flavio’s shoulder and the corner of his mouth equally unexpectedly twitched into a half smirk. “He must be pretty light if you could carry him so easily.”

“Hey!” Flavio bristled again as he carried Lynus over to an empty table with a chair thankfully already pulled out and carefully set Lynus onto his feet before helping him to sit down onto the chair. “You’re testing me today, old man!”

Bertrand was actually in a good mood. But his teasing still pissed him off!

“Actually,” Lynus said as he leaned back against his chair and lifted his foot to place atop of another chair. “Those who rely on archery have great upper body strength. They would need to, to be able to pull back a bow at its full drawing strength. Not to mention immense concentrating and stamina to be able to hold firm and keep your eye on the target.”

Flavio turned to look at Lynus with a subtle expression of astonishment, only to smile widely when Lynus playfully winked at him. “Yeah, what he said,” Flavio said as he triumphantly turned his attention back to Bertrand.

Bertrand was silent for a moment, though his unquestionably annoying expression of restrained amusement stayed on his face. “Is that so?” he drawled simply. “Well, can’t argue with logic, I suppose. I’ll just mosey on down to the inn, shall I?”

He was in a really good mood. His date with Hrothgar must have gone well last night. Using the excuse to fetch someone from the Guardians to see Hrothgar, huh? That sly old man.

“Good, go,” Flavio said instead of turning the teasing around on him as, honestly, it was good to see the old man not so distant and closed off.

As Bertrand walked out of the café, Flavio turned his attention to Fafnir, whom of which had lingered silently in the background the entire time, with Lynus’ bag still in his grip. “Fafnir, could you get some ice?” he asked as he retrieved the said medical bag from him.

Though Fafnir’s expression was as deadpan as was usual for him, his bottom lips seemed to be protruding just a little bit. “Fine,” he muttered.

Flavio blinked as he watched Fafnir walk away…He sounded sulky. He looked sulky. What was he sulky about?

Whatever.

Lynus smiled at him as Flavio placed his bag upon the table next to him. “Lucky I carry my bag with me everywhere,” he said as slipped off his boot from his right foot and dropped it softly to the floor. He kept his right hand curled closed and against his chest as he did so, before his left sought out his bag. He quickly opened it and dug around for only a few seconds before he pulled out a wad of thick bandages, a blue bottle and a few cotton balls and swabs.

Flavio snared the back of another chair and pulled it closer before he sat down on it. “Here, let me do that,” he said as he reached out to take the healing ointments and cleaning utensils from Lynus as he was clearly having a difficult time using them with one hand.

Lynus unexpectedly gave him a small, almost dejected smile. “Sorry, I…I’m not very good at healing myself.”

Flavio was a little startled by that admission but hoped it didn’t show. Lynus was famed for being the Miracle Medic. He would have enough talent to heal himself. If it wasn’t from the lack of talent or skill…What could prevent a medic from healing himself?

Though he was curious, he didn’t want to ask Lynus straight to his face. It must be a sore subject for him, if the downcast of his eyes and the frown on his lips was any indication.

Instead, Flavio reached out for Lynus’ hand and started to carefully clean his minor injury. Thankfully the graze wasn’t too deep and there didn’t appear to be any small stones or other foreign objects lodged under the skin. His hand felt slightly cold, though. Was it from the shock of the fall?

He hoped Fafnir returned with that ice for his ankle soon.

“I’m sorry for all the trouble,” Lynus said again, his tone holding a sense of…guilt. As if he was taking away Flavio’s attention from something more important.

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Flavio returned with a friendly, comforting smile before he decided to turn their focus away from Lynus’ current predicament. “Ah, I just remembered. When you were here the other day dropping off those recipes, you mentioned something about monster grimoires. I’m curious as to why you would need those.”

An expression of realisation appeared on Lynus’ face and he brightened considerably, subtly informing Flavio that whatever he was going to say next had a lot to do with healing or the hospital.

“Oh, it’s just a theory I have at the moment and it’s kinda hard to explain,” Lynus said before he began to chatter on, allowing for Flavio to care for his injured hand without looking at him with guilt. “But you know how grimoires give you an insight and ability to use the skill that is confined within that stone? I was curious to see that if studying the grimoire stones with monster skills will allow me, or other medics for that matter, insight into that particular skill. If we can better understand how a skill or attack is used, then we may be able to better understand how to assess and heal that particular injury. Tobyn and Hamza both seem to think that with a little bit of fussing about, I should be able to document characteristics of not only the skill itself, but perhaps even help with the documentation of the monster as well.”

Flavio listened silently to Lynus as he chatted and found himself honestly amazed. “That’s…ingenious! How in the world did you come up with that?”

Lynus blushed but smiled at him as his hand reached into his bag to pull out another roll of bandages. “Healing is very important to me,” he said as he tugged back his hand to wrap the fresh bandages around his injured hand. As he did so, however, an unexpected emotion of pain appeared in his eyes and he gazed down at the floor. “Putting an end to people’s pain and suffering is important to me.”

Flavio couldn’t help but feel that Lynus was being…haunted by something. Well, maybe not so much haunted, but as if troubled by memories or events that had happened that he wanted to forget, but for whatever reason were always there, just underneath the surface.

That thought troubled Flavio also and he honestly had to suppress a protective bristle. Lynus was so loving and compassionate to everyone. His capacity to love seemed limitless. Who or what would want to bring him any harm or heartache?

“Here’s the ice.” Fafnir’s voice pulled Flavio from his thoughts and he turned to look over his shoulder to find the said swordsman standing there with the ice wrapped in a handtowel and a thick pillow under his arm. “I also brought a pillow.”

“Great, thanks,” Flavio said as he jumped to his feet and retrieved the two items from Fafnir before immediately turning his attention back to Lynus. “Now, let’s look at that ankle of yours.”

“It’s only a sprain,” Lynus said but grimaced as he lifted his foot up for Flavio to place the pillow on the chair he was using to alleviate the injury. “A support bandage should be enough after we get the swelling down, of course.”

Flavio hummed lightly in acknowledgement as he readjusted the ice in the handtowel and carefully placed it over the now obviously swollen ankle. He probably won’t be walking on it for a day or two.

He couldn’t help but wonder how irritated the other Guardians would be when they found out that a guy walking into Lynus was responsible for his injuries, and how he didn’t stop to see if he was all right.

“Hopefully Bertrand actually tells someone from your guild you’re here and not get lost looking dreamily into Hrothgar’s eyes,” Flavio said as he fussed about getting the pillow and ice pack in the best position.

Lynus laughed but chose not to reply. Instead he reached into his bag to search around for something.

Flavio was abruptly pulled from his fussing when he felt a finger suddenly jab into the small of his back, at a very sensitive spot. “Ah!” he all but shrieked before he spun around and looked crossly at Fafnir. “How many times have I told you not to do that?”

Fafnir looked back at him blankly, but his bottom lip was still sticking out in a pout. “I had to get your attention somehow. You’ve been ignoring me.”

“Ignoring you?” Flavio repeated in bewilderment before he reached out to pinch Fafnir’s cheeks with his fingers and scolded him. “I haven’t been ignoring you; I’ve been busy helping Lynus. God, it’s been, what, fifteen minutes or something?”

Fafnir reached up to snare Flavio’s wrists in his hands and tugged them down from his cheeks. “If I sprained my ankle, would you carry me?”

Flavio arched an eyebrow at him, though made no attempt to tug his hands free. “Dude, to be honest, I don’t think I’d be able to lift you.”

“Are you saying I’m fat?”

“I’m saying that you’re heavy. Muscle mass is heavier than fat.”

“Are you saying I’m ruggedly muscular?”

“Dude, are you fishing for compliments?”

“I’m looking for your undivided attention.”

“What are you, a child?”

An honestly amused laugh from Lynus caused Flavio to stiffen when he realised how close he and Fafnir were standing; nearly chest to chest with Flavio’s wrists still held in Fafnir’s hands. He felt himself blush and he quickly tugged his hands free from Fafnir, though he had received a bit of resistance.

“Ah, s-sorry about that,” Flavio said as he turned his attention back to Lynus. “Do you need anything else? What about something to eat or drink? Have you had breakfast yet? I bet you’re tired, huh?”

Flavio was rambling, but he was abruptly cut off with a high-pitched ‘eek!’ when Fafnir unexpectedly and quite literally pounced on him from behind, his arms around his waist as he rested his chin on his shoulder.

“I’m still here,” Fafnir said into Flavio’s ear, his heated breath causing an unexpected shiver of…something to race down Flavio’s spine. “Anything else?”

Flavio stood stock still, utterly stunned before he found movements back in his limbs and immediately reacted by trying to push the other away.  He held firm, though, which was honestly reassuring in a way. “Oh, we’re fine, you big baby.”

Again, Lynus laughed before he shook his head slightly. “Thank you for your help, Fafnir.”

Fafnir suddenly stilled and turned his head slightly to look at Lynus. He was quiet for a moment before unfurling his arms from around Flavio and taking a step back. “…Don’t mention it,” he said in a surprisingly easy-going manner before he turned around and wandered off.

Flavio watched as Fafnir walked away, feeling a little bewildered and…dejected honestly. He turned back to Lynus when he heard the orange-haired medic laugh softly once again.

“Fafnir appears to be jealous,” Lynus unexpectedly said.

Flavio blinked. “...Of me?”

Lynus laughed yet again. “No, of me,” he said with a knowing smile. “He's been pouting ever since you carried me here.”

That…was true, wasn’t it? That made him really happy, actually. What a spoilt little brat.

“Maybe I should apologise to him for keeping your attention away from him?” Lynus added.

“Leave that big baby to me,” Flavio said as he dropped down onto the chair next to Lynus. “For now, let’s take care of that ankle of yours. Also, I would like if you had something to eat before you left. I bet you skipped breakfast, didn’t you?”

Lynus flushed lightly from embarrassment before he pouted cutely. “Oh, don’t fuss over me.”

“Nope, not listening. I’m going to get you something to eat and you’re going to eat it. Even if I have to force-feed you. God knows you could afford a few extra pounds”

“Now, don’t _you_ start on me.”

…You know, it was nice being able to care for someone like this. Even if it made Fafnir unnecessarily jealous. But, oh well, Flavio would just have to deal with him acting clingy later.

He was pretty sure he could handle that.


	22. Stranger Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flavio encounters a rather…unusual ronin. And meets his son…and husband?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairings: A very slight Shiki/Gerald if you want to see it that way.
> 
> AN: It’s been a while since I’ve written these Guardian Chronicles, but after reading this I’m sure you’ll understand why I waited~ Hope you enjoy nonetheless!

It was nearing sunset as Flavio stepped out of the café to change the menu on the street sign once again. Though he had spent the entirety of the day at the café helping out with customer service, something Regina still needed lessons in, he certainly hadn’t been bored.

He had spent the breakfast rush keeping Lynus company as he rested up from a long day at the hospital and an non-too gentle shove by some jerk in a hurry, causing him to stumble into the gutter outside the café, hurting his ankle and hand. Lynus was a delight to speak with, so it wasn’t like it was a chore chatting with him. He wasn’t even bothered when Axel all but stormed into the café with a scowl of concern on his face.

Naturally, the first thing Axel asked was whether Lynus was ok, to which Lynus himself answered with a gentle and comforting, but firm nonetheless ‘yes’. And the second thing Axel asked, directly to Flavio this time, whether or not he knew the bastard responsible.

With visions of legs sticking straight out of a trashcan flickering through his mind, Flavio honestly wished he did get a better look at the jerk. But he was too busy worrying for Lynus’ wellbeing to get a profile on the guy. While that answer didn’t fully subdue Axel’s understandable protectiveness, it did calm him somewhat.

Though, regardless of the lack of a description, Flavio couldn’t help but feel that the Guardians would be able to track the guy down. His days were obviously numbered. The best thing for him to do was to skip town and never return.

Unconcerned by the customers of the café gossiping around them, Axel crouched in front of Lynus, one hand on his leg, the other resting on the back of the chair which he sat upon. He leaned in close to him, their faces inches apart as they spoke softly to each other.

Flavio hadn’t a clue what they spoke about. It was none of his business, after all, and he had politely took a step back to give the two some kind of privacy. After a few minutes, Axel stood up and grabbed Lynus’ bag, slinging it over his shoulder.

After ensuring that Lynus was ok to be moved, to remove the icepack from his ankle, Axel thanked Flavio for watching over Lynus again before he promptly, and effortlessly, picked the all too slender medic up into his arms. There was no hesitation, not a moment to consider how they were going to help Lynus back to the inn – he just picked him up and held him close. Cradled him. As if…he was the most important thing to ever existed.

It…

Flavio felt a slight tug of envy when he once again realised just how loving and comfortable Lynus and Axel were with each other. In broad daylight. In public. Though Lynus had blushed lightly when Axel lifted him up into his arms, it wasn’t necessarily from embarrassment. Shyness, but embarrassment. The warm smile on his lips and the sheer fondness in his gaze was telling; this has happened before. Numerous times, most likely. And neither of them cared in the slightest who was around to see them.

With another apology from Lynus and a word of thanks from Axel, the two turned and left the café.

And soon after that, just as he had anticipated, Flavio had to deal with a needy and clingy Fafnir who wanted his full and undivided attention. And fending him off took up most of his day after that.

While Flavio didn’t mind that Fafnir was doing little sulky and childish things to gain his attention, it was cute and endearing after all. He just wished that he wouldn’t poke his most sensitive weak points after he perceived him to be ignoring him. Flavio was sick of getting either odd or amused looks from the customers each and every time he uttered a high-pitched ‘eek!’ of surprise.

That little smug smirk Fafnir would grant him each and every time was also rather annoying.

An unsettling trill suddenly racing down his spine caused Flavio to lift his head up and look around at the street once more. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what he was feeling, but it felt like to him that he was…well sensing, for a lack of a better word, a powerful presence. Not that of the monster kind, though. The human kind. As if…there was a veteran explorer near.

As he glanced around, somewhat nervously, his gaze soon settled on two figures walking along his side of the street. One human, the other canine.

The man appeared to be that of a ronin. And he appeared menacing; deep scars on his chest that seemed to reach all the way round to his back, heavy bandages around his left arm, golden gauntlets on his wrists and forearms, and a long blade within reach by his side. And his eyes were narrowed and red, and piercing. His hair an ashen grey and his face hard chiselled with a scruffy beard.

And walking alongside him, head low and ears perked was a wolf with unusual bluish grey fur, quite large, easily reaching the man’s waist. Though not nearly as big as Chi-hung from the Guardians, it did appear larger than Wulfgar from the Beowulf guild.

He, along with his wolf companion, looked like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.

M-maybe he should just dart back inside the cafe?

But before Flavio could contemplate what he should do, the wolf suddenly lifted its head to look at him, pitch black eyes staring directly at him. It flicked its ear back before suddenly darting forward at an incredible speed, to lunge forward, directly at him! Flavio managed to utter out a surprise “wah!” before the wolf barrelled into him, front paws on his chest and open mouth inches away from his face. The force and the suddenness of the attack caused Flavio to fall backward, landing heavily on the ground, winding him immediately, where the wolf than proceeded to…

Whine excitedly and sloppily lick his face?!

W-what in the world?! He had never seen this wolf before in his life! Why was it acting like it was so excited to see him?

A surprising bellowing laugh of pure amusement cut through the air as Flavio tried to push the overly affectionate wolf off of him. “Now, Farley, what did I say about not jumping on strangers? No matter how adorable they are!”

With a low, seemingly disappointed whine, the wolf that had to be named Farley stopped attempting to lick Flavio’s face and prompted got off of him, leaving him dazed, confused, and rather dirty. As soon as the wolf had scrambled away, though, Flavio felt a pair of hands suddenly grab him from under his arms. For a split second he was alarmed, but he soon recognised them to belong to none other than Fafnir, so didn’t struggle when he hauled him to his feet.

“Are you all right?” Fafnir promptly asked him as he thankfully gave Flavio a hand towel to wipe the, ah, doggy drool from his face before he narrowed his eyes in the stranger’s directly, glaring at him protectively.

“Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry,” Flavio immediately responded in hopes of cooling Fafnir’s protectiveness toward him and quickly wiped the remnants of the salvia from his face and neck before he turned to look at the ronin as well.

The man…he honestly didn’t look as intimidating now. Not the way he was playfully chiding his wolf companion. Bent down at the waist, he scratched the top of Farley’s head, the wolf wagging its tail so energetically, that its back legs and butt were actually wiggling. Stark contrast to when he felt laid eyes on them.

“Sorry about Farley, yeah?” the man abruptly said as he stood to his full height and smiled broadly at Flavio with his hands planted on his hips. “Four years old, but still an overly excited pup. Reminds me of my own son!”

“Oh, ah, no harm done,” Flavio said in response while Fafnir remained silent and on guard next to him, still eying the man off warily. Oddly, though, the ronin didn’t seem at all perturbed by Fafnir’s narrowed eyes. Either that or he was oblivious to his glare?

The man parted his lips to say something else when another voice, one that was unfamiliar and yet Flavio sworn he had heard somewhere before, interrupted him. “Shiki!”

The ronin immediately snapped his mouth shut and turned slightly to look over his shoulder. Out of sheer habit, and maybe even a bit of curiosity, Flavio turned to look as well, and watched as two men, one dressed in a brown gunner’s coat and the other with striking blue hair and numerous small bandages on his face and neck.

Flavio somewhat recognised the two men, though he hadn’t been introduced to them formally. He was fairly certain, however, that this blue-haired landsknecht was the infamous blue-haired ‘dumbass’ he had heard rumours about. The one they called Simmons of guild Cosmos. And the other was…Gerald? His long-suffering guardian? Or was that uncle? He couldn’t remember exactly.

He also recognised them from that little incident that his guild didn’t believe actually happened in the labyrinth. Yeah, that one. The one with the landsknecht and hexer riding a giant moa.

That one.

“There you are,” the gunner said with a frown, and yet there appeared to be an expression of…relief in his eyes. “How many times have I told you not to go roaming without telling me?”

“Ah, I’m sorry, dear Gerald,” the man called Shiki all but cooed unexpectedly, earning a flush and a huff from the other man. “But give me a sec, yeah?” he said before he turned his attention back to Flavio.

“Hurry up, dad, I’m starving!” Simmons complained with a disgruntled pout on his lips.

Shiki immediately whipped around and planted one of his hands on his hip while the other waved exuberantly with the other. “Hi Starving, I’m dad!”

The pout on Simmons’ lips abruptly disappeared and he smiled widely, exuberant and overly cheerful.

The two of them then proceeded to sniggered to each other, completely oblivious to both Flavio and Fafnir, and of Gerald who had his hand covering his face in the most exasperated way possible. It was probably a good thing the two were so oblivious to those around them, as Flavio knew beyond doubt that he was staring incredulous at the two.

Flavio never really had a father figure growing up, but was this…a father-son bonding moment?

Simmons turned away from his, er, dad, though he remained smiling. He seemed to glance idly in Flavio’s direction before doing a double-take and, unexpectedly, his smile broadened as if he recognised him.

“Oh, hey, you’re that guy from the labyrinth!”

Flavio blinked at him before he gave him a nervous and lopsided smile. “Y-yeah, that’s right. When you were…riding that giant moa, right?” He then glanced over at Gerald, who of which had his brow furrowed, as if trying to recall when that event took place. “And you were being chased by two gunners on foot.”

Immediately after he said that, Gerald’s frown was replaced with an expression of realisation. Before resignation. And then sheer exasperation. Oh yeah, he remembered it now.

Shiki abruptly threw his head back on a loud, boisterous laugh as Gerald dragged his hand over his face in such a way that it appeared that an hour didn’t go by without him doing so at least once. And Simmons, for his part, just kept smiling, seemingly oblivious to everything.

“That’s my boy,” Shiki cheered as he slapped Simmons on the back before lopping his arm around his neck to drag him closer. “Next, we’ll aim for a fire drake. That should impress our little dark hunter, right?”

“Yeah!”

Flavio blinked. Dark hunter? Wait…they weren’t talking about Squirrel, er, Rahas, were they?

“Ah, how rude of me,” Shiki suddenly stated as he slipped his arm from around Simmons’ neck and turned to give Flavio and Fafnir his full focus. “I haven’t introduced myself, have I? I am Shiki, member of Guild Cosmos,” he said in a professional manner before breaking out into a wide grin. “But everyone calls me dad!”

Flavio wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that, so he simply smiled politely. “Oh, it’s nice to meet you. My name is Flavio,” he said before he tapped his knuckles against the centre of Fafnir’s chest to indicate toward him. “And this is Fafnir. We’re members of the Midgard Library.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Shiki said in a good-natured, friendly manner that actually gave the indication that he was being truthful and he reached around Simmons to clasp Gerald by the shoulder and tugging him forward. “This is Gerald, my husband.”

Flavio blinked while Gerald bristled and blushed at the same time. “Stop telling everyone that!”

Shiki, however, ignored him as he dropped his hand from Gerald’s shoulder to instead place both his hands on Simmons’ shoulders and positioned him in such a way in front of them that it appeared that he was proudly showing him off. “My tall son, Simmons.”

“Hi!” Simmons said cheerfully as he waved at them.

Flavio practically heard Fafnir blink in a stoically bemused manner while Flavio himself returned the wave with a small, nervous wiggle of his fingers.

Completely unperturbed but the lack of response, Shiki then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small leather bound wallet, the kind that kept important notes or documents. But as he flipped it open, he revealed that he was using it as a sort of pocket sized photo album. He flipped through a few of the photos before he pulled one out and lifted it up, all but shoving it into Flavio’s face.

“This is my small son, Lynus,” Shiki said proudly.

Even though he instinctively took a step back, Flavio nearly had to go cross-eyed to get a practical look of the photo, and when the image came into focus, he felt his eyebrows reach up toward his hairline. The photo was that of Lynus, seemingly taken without warning as he sat at a table or desk that was covered in notebooks and folders. He was looking toward the camera, but appeared startled. Though rather cutely, but startled nonetheless.

Flavio…wasn’t entirely sure what to think of that. Surely this man wasn’t Lynus’ real father? No, he must simply mean adoptive. Yeah, that sounded right. From what he heard from Hrothgar, a few people were protective of the medic and some even consider him as a son or brother to them.

Still, he was…curious to say the least. Maybe he should ask Lynus about it later.

Flavio didn’t have any more time to dwell on it when Shiki shoved another photo into his face. “And my emo son, Rahas.”

Flavio blinked and looked at the picture. Unexpectedly, the corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk. It was a picture of Rahas alright, and he was glaring with such utter hatred at the camera as someone out of shot pulled back his hair from his eyes to allow for a clear view of his entire scowling face.

Heh, emo. Glad to know he wasn’t the only one to think so.

Shiki then proceeded to shove two more photos into his face. “And my spacy daughter, Kerri, and my angry daughter, Tiffany.”

Flavio didn’t immediately recognise the two until a few seconds later when he realised that he had seen the small hexer girl riding the same giant moa as Simmons, and the blonde-haired gunner was the one who was chasing them on foot with Gerald.

“You…have lovely children?” Flavio muttered while Fafnir, having thankfully remained silent and not utter a single sarcastic retort during this entire time, snorted loudly.

“Oh, you’ve met my kids?” Shiki asked as he carefully placed his photos back into his wallet and into his back pocket.

“Well, really only Lynus and Squi-Rahas,” Flavio answered. “Lynus is just a really lovely person. And Rahas…really likes trees?”

“And windows!” Shiki added with a wide grin. “Learnt from the best!”

Next to him, Flavio felt Fafnir twitch and he knew, he just knew that Fafnir was about to say something sarcastic. He had been silent for too long.

So Flavio stomped on his foot before Fafnir could utter a word, instead causing him to lowly grunt in pain while Flavio smiled politely at Shiki once more. He tried to ignore the pout from Fafnir as he wracked his brain on what to say to the other man, debating whether to invite them inside the café for dinner, which would have been the polite thing to do. Or to excuse him and Fafnir so that they could get back to work within said café.

But just as Flavio chose to be polite there was another voice, one that was laughing. Mockingly. Childishly.

“Ah-hah! Though you have my meat-shield, er, Herald’s attention now, my eternal rival, rest assured that before the night is through, he would belong to I, Benedict Richardson the Third!”

Flavio winced while Fafnir bristled. Oh no…not again. Did he mistake Fafnir for Rahas again? How could anyone make such a mistake twice? Sure, Lynus said he had very poor eyesight, but he couldn’t be that blind, could he?

Unexpectedly, Shiki’s cheerful face creased into a fearsome scowl as his eye twitched violently. “That little Dick…” he all but hissed as he bristled.

Sure enough, as they all turned in the direction of the high-pitched voice, they watched as a certain green haired, starry eyed child perch himself dramatically atop of a small stone feature wall outside of the café. And, with an all too dramatic flair of his rich, royal cape, he brandished his sceptre in their collective direction.

“Now, my unequalled rival, I, Benedict Richardson the Third, challenge you to a duel at ten paces!”

All Flavio could think, though, was; here we go again…

However, moving at a lightning pace, Shiki stood directly in front of Benedict and clamped his hand atop of Benedict’s head. And he was holding him up off the ground as he loomed menacingly over him.

“Heathen swine!” Benedict actually shouted without a tremor of fear in his voice as he clasped onto Shiki’s wrist with his hands and immediately kicked and flailed with his legs. “How dare you lay a hand on I, Benedict Richardson the Third! I will have your head!”

“The only thing you’ll be doing is clawing your way out of the Lagaardian sewer system,” Shiki said in a low and terrifying voice as he glared at the struggling kid with unrelenting eyes.

“I, Benedict Richardson the Third, will not be threatened by your petty threats!” Benedict said defiantly.

“Shiki!” Gerald abruptly chided loudly. “Put him down!”

Shiki, however, kept a firm grip on Benedict’s head, unflinching even as Benedict kicked and squirmed, shrilling loudly and honestly rather incoherently about the audacity and indignity of it all. “But Gerald…!” he actually whined.

“Don’t you ‘But Gerald’ me!” the gunner quickly returned as he stomped over to him. “For heaven’s sake, he’s just a kid!”

“But he’s an obnoxious kid!”

“So were you at that age! God!”

“Unhand me, you uneducated swine!”

“Quiet, kid, I’m trying to save your neck!”

“You’re my husband! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Stop saying that!”

Flavio looked at the scene before turning his head to look at Fafnir, to find him already looking at him. They exchanged glances, Flavio silently mouthing “Should we help?” to him while Fafnir simply shrugged.

This…probably happened a lot, right? Better not get involved, yeah?

“Isn’t my dad the greatest?” Simmons suddenly asked, his question directed toward Flavio.

Flavio paused for a moment as he tried to think of the right word for the ronin. Honestly, when he first laid eyes on him, he found him menacing and intimidating. Goes to show that you really couldn’t judge a book by its cover. Especially not around High Lagaard, anyway.

“He’s certainly a character,” Flavio honestly answered, which was thankfully a good enough reply as Simmons beamed at him once more.

“He had disappeared for ten years, but now that he’s back it was like he never left!” Simmons surprisingly revealed before he started to ramble further. “He had to leave to protect Rahas and Lynus for a while, so that was why he was gone, but he’s back now, so it’s ok!”

Flavio gaped at him silently for a moment…Protect? Protect Lynus and Rahas from what? Or who?

However, before he could ask, or before Simmons could admit anything more, he abruptly turned and wandered over to where Shiki and Gerald were still arguing, and where Benedict was still lifted off the group by a single hand, flailing and shrieking in a highly ‘unroyal’ manner.

Flavio wasn’t entirely sure what to think about Shiki or about Simmons. They were…an unusual guild, that was for sure.

Maybe he should just talk to Lynus about it? But…be was once again reluctant to do so. Simmons said Shiki was needed to protect Lynus and Rahas. What exactly did he mean by that? Did he mean that literally? And if he did…

Asking Lynus about it might dredge up too many painful memories. And after seeing that faraway look of pain in Lynus’ eyes that morning, he didn’t want to do that to the gentle medic.

So…perhaps it was best to keep his curiosity to himself for now.

“Husband, huh?” Fafnir unexpectedly muttering pulled Flavio from his musings.

Flavio immediately turned to look at him, only to find Fafnir holding his chin with a deeply contemplative expression on his face. Flavio parted his lips to ask him what he was mumbling, what he was thinking about, but quickly shut his mouth. It was probably better he didn’t know what Fafnir was thinking about. If that preoccupied look in his eyes was anything to go by. That was Fafnir’s plotting and scheming face.

And Flavio had learnt from experience that nothing good came from that look.


	23. The Glint of a Knife

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fafnir was just relaxing at the bar when a minor confrontation breaks out. Axel from the Guardian guild is roped into breaking it up. But then Fafnir spots the glint of a knife being pulled…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairings: None really. Minor Fafnir/Flavio and perhaps platonic Fafnir/Axel?
> 
> Prompt: CtS Crew Prompt 1 (yes my own prompt, so sue me)
> 
> AN: I so desperately needed to write something today. I feel a little rusty for not being able to write anything remotely substantial for about a week now and guilty about it, too. Not to mention I was getting unfairly frustrated with myself. Thankfully I did manage to write something. I feel relieved to be honest. It’s not very long, and it’s probably not that good, but I wrote something. It was to one of my own prompts, but still. Now I’m going to lie down for a while, relieved that I can still write. Kinda silly, I know, but that’s how I feel at the moment. So hope you enjoy reading nonetheless!

The bar was as busy as usual that night. Despite the frosty night air just outside the doors, the atmosphere of the Stickleback bar was as relaxed yet boisterous as it usually was. Explorers drinking their aches and pains away, or simply basking in the afterglow of a much fought-for achievement.

For Fafnir, Flavio, and Bertrand they were simply visiting the bar to relax and unwind a little before retiring for the night. Bertrand sat across from where Fafnir and Flavio sat, his legs stretched out under the table as he leaned back casually into his chair. Flavio sat close to Fafnir, a somewhat subconscious decision as he found comfort in his presence amidst the bustle of the bar.

While Flavio was cautious of those around them, not wishing to have anyone bump into him or he accidentally bump into them. For Flavio, it was just common courtesy. For Fafnir he was glad that Flavio always sat close to him when the bar was full. All the easier for him to wrap an arm around his shoulders and tug him to his side should any drunkard take a fancy to his beautiful Flavio.

It had happened several times before. And Flavio was oblivious to all. Ironic, right? A cautious and skittish survivalist not knowing when someone was flirting with him.

Ah, but that was just one of his charms.

Fafnir pulled his drink away from his lips mid sip when a disgruntled shout from close by caused Flavio to wince and subconsciously move closer to him. Fafnir glanced over in the direction the shout originated from to find two men, probably in their mid-20s up in each other's faces. Their hands grasped the other's collar as they seemed to hiss and sneer unknown words to each other. As they did so, they pushed and shoved each other around, knocking into tables and chairs, and other explorers.

Someone should step in and stop this nonsense before a really disgruntled explorer gets involved and turn this fracas into a brawl.

"Axel! Get yer ass into gear and get over here!"

At Bar-keep Cass' angry yell, Fafnir glanced over in the direction of where a certain redheaded landsknecht of the Guardian Guild sat with a few of his guildmates. He watched as Axel heaved a deep sigh, probably that of annoyance and frustration, before he pushed himself to his feet. With his face creased into a disgruntled look, he immediately turned away from his teammates and marched over to where the two explorers were still tussling with each other.

Next to Fafnir, Flavio sighed and shook his head. "He gets called to break up fights all the time," he said with sympathy in his voice. "He finds it really annoying. Though, he is a better option than Zeryn."

Despite himself, Fafnir felt a smirk slip across his lips. That blond-haired highlander probably started more bar brawls than anyone else in this entire city. Though he had the habit of ending them too. No one outlived a bar-fight better than he could.

With the two explorers with Axel attempting to break them up still tussling, they stumbled closer to where Fafnir sat. He felt himself frown when the two seemed to be ignoring Axel. Something that was uncommon as the sight of the redhead was usually enough to get brawlers to become best friends again.

This time, however, Axel had to physically get his hands on the two and pry them apart. He grabbed one man by the shoulder and threw him back a couple of feet, causing him to stagger before he fell back to land on his back. With that man out of the way, Axel turned his attention to the other and had him by his upper arm as well.

As Axel tried to speak with the other man, to calm him down in hopes of not having to literally pick him up by his throat and throw him outside, Fafnir felt his gaze focus on the man that had been shoved to the floor.

The man sat on the floor, his head down as his shoulders heaved. He appeared to be panting. Or maybe just breathing deeply in an attempt to push back his own anger and frustration. However, Fafnir frowned when the man reached for his own boot and...

Fafnir sat up straight in his chair when he caught the glint of something metallic and shiny. He immediately knew what it was. It was a knife.

A trill of panic settled in Fafnir's chest as the man gripped the knife tightly in his hand, holding it with a fist and drew himself to his feet. Axel was still distracted trying to talk some sense into the other guy that he didn't notice that the other was slightly hunched over into an attacking stance. Even from this distance Fafnir could see the rage in the man’s eyes, and the white knuckled grip he had on the knife.

With the closest thing he can his hands on being his own thick beer mug, Fafnir pushed himself to his feet abruptly, the chair crashing to the floor behind him from the sudden movement. Gripping the glass tightly, he reeled back his arm and threw the mug as hard as he could.

And his aim was _perfect._

The mug literally smashed into the side of the potential-attacker's head, shattering on impact and showering him with glass and alcohol. The force was so sudden and powerful that the man immediately lurched to the side by the force. And the knife tumbled from his hand, landing near Axel’s food, the blade embedding deep into the floor.

Good. It missed him. And he wasn’t going to get a knife in the back.

Axel dropped his grip he had on the other man and whirled around to look at the other. But his gaze drifted downwards toward the floor. His eyes widened and he took a half step back upon seeing the knife. It took him only a second to realise what had happened and what potentially could have happened.

“Did you just pull a fucking knife on me?” Axel seethed as he glared at the man lying dazed on the floor.

As the other man scrambled back, wanting no part in this, Axel stalked toward the would-be assailant, grabbed him by his throat and proceeded to literally drag him outside. To perhaps (and hopefully) beat some sense into the guy. Number one rule of all bar fights; no weapons were allowed.

Relieved that he had managed to prevent Axel from a potentially dangerous or even fatal stab injury, Fafnir sighed and turned around to pick up his chair. He righted it and sat down, unconcerned that the bar had fallen into a semi-dense silence.

“Wh-what was that?” Flavio asked as he pressed himself against Fafnir’s side.

“Saw the guy pull a knife,” Fafnir said simply with a shrug. “That shit doesn’t fly with me.”

Flavio stared at him in disbelief for a moment before a flicker of relief also appeared in his eyes. “Oh thank god you saw that. I can’t even imagine the chaos that would have erupted if the guy managed to stab Axel.”

Fafnir could. He could see the Guardian guild hunting the bastard down and beating the tar out of him. Which he deserved, let’s be honest. Poor Lynus would have been a mess, though. Fafnir could just imagine the fear and panic from the orange-haired medic if Axel did get stabbed.

A few moments later the doors that Axel dragged his would-be assailant through opened and he stepped back inside. He looked around with a curious expression in the area of the bar where Fafnir and his companions sat.

“Hey, who threw that glass?” he asked.

When Axel’s gaze landed on Fafnir, he raised his hand in a “hi, yeah, that was me” gesture. A grateful smile immediately broke out across Axel’s face and he made a beeline straight toward them. As he approached, Fafnir took to his feet and allowed the other man to take his hand in a firm handshake.

“Man, thanks, I totally owe you one for that,” Axel said graciously and gratefully.

“Don’t mention it,” Fafnir said as he grasped the other man’s hand. “If reversed, you would have done the same for me.”

Axel nodded his head, still smiling. “Well, let me at least buy you a drink. That was a great shot, by the way. Cass’ beer mugs have been designed not to break during a bar fight. You must have thrown it with some force. I don’t tell Zeryn, though, he’s likely to try to goad you into a fight for the hell of it.”

Fafnir just chuckled. He didn’t doubt it. “Sure, I’ll take you up on that drink.”


	24. Risky Stares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flavio is alone at the bar when he realises that someone has been staring at him. He’s a little nervous, but with the Guardians around, there’s nothing to worry about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Characters: Flavio, Lynus, Axel, and Zeryn, with an unnamed OC there for fodder
> 
> Prompt: CtS Prompt 2
> 
> AN: Again, writing for one of my own prompts :’D This one was fun to write though. Maybe a little bit self-indulgent, but that doesn’t matter. I wrote something, that’s what matters. Now, I hope you enjoy reading~

Flavio was nervous. If you asked someone from his guild they would say that he was always nervous or on edge. Simply not true! He was simply cautious.

But as he glanced over his shoulder for the umpteenth time in the last five minutes, what he was feeling was pure nervousness.

It was mid-afternoon and while the Stickleback bar wasn't as full as it usually was, it had its fair share of patrons loitering about. But there was one in particular that made the hairs on the back of Flavio's neck rise up. By one of the entrance sat a man he did not recognise at all. Short spiky black hair. Class unrecognisable. Eyes a simple brown. Nothing even vaguely familiar about him.

And yet he had been staring at him silently ever since Flavio walked into the bar.

He didn't notice him at first, but as he handed over the quest materials to Cass he felt that feeling of being watched. Flavio wasn't sure if his instincts have been heightened or whether it was pure luck, but the moment he felt that feeling and he turned to look, his eyes fell upon the figure of a man who stared intently back at him.

Even after their gazes caught each other’s from clear across the room, the man continued to look at him. Flavio held his gaze for what felt like thirty seconds before he felt intimidated and tore his gaze away.

He couldn't stop himself from continuously glancing over his shoulder though. And each time he did, he found that guy staring back at him.

There was absolutely no expression on the guy's face. Completely blank. One hand held a drink of some kind while the other held his chin as he leaned forward to rest on the table before him. Though his face gave away no hint of what he was feeling or even thinking, Flavio couldn't help but believe he didn't have the best of intentions for him.

Flavio tried to tell himself that he was just being paranoid. Being a survivalist in the labyrinth did that to a guy, right? But he just could not shake the feeling that something wasn't right about the guy. He would feel better if the guy reacted to him looking at him. Hell, even a creepy smile was preferable to that cool, blank stare.

Didn't he know it was rude to stare at someone? The nerve of some people!

Flavio wanted to brush it off. Despite what he was feeling. But his instincts wouldn't let him. Something in his gut was telling him not to leave the bar just yet. Not on his own. To wait and linger about with the other patrons long enough for Fafnir to get the huffs and come and get him.

He couldn't help but feel...silly. Here he was, a survivalist who ventured into a labyrinth filled with monsters, and he was nervous about some random guy that wouldn't stop staring at him from a distance. Though, some do say that it was humans that were the greatest threat...

He chewed on his bottom lip as he glanced over his shoulder again. And once again his gaze collided with that of that man's. And yet again, blank expression and cold stare. It was...almost inhuman in a way.

However, a flash of white from the corner of his eye caught Flavio's attention and he immediately flicked his gaze towards it. He felt a breath of relief pass his lips when he recognised a certain orange-haired medic as he walked in through the doors his potential stalker was located.

Flavio felt relieved to find a familiar and friendly face amongst the crowds. Though he couldn't help but worry when he noticed that man finally tear his gaze from Flavio's direction. And instead gaze at Lynus.

Lynus had his head down as he shuffled through his medical bag. He suddenly stiffened, however, and clutched at the strap of his bag as he immediately turned around. And looked back at the guy now staring at him. He froze for a few seconds before he took a skittish step back. He then turned around completely, still clutching his bag, and hastily headed toward the bar.

In conjunction with his nervousness, Flavio felt a spike of protectiveness as well. Like, how dare that creep scare Lynus like that?

As Lynus made his way toward the bar, he looked in Flavio’s direction and he managed to grant him a nervous smile. Flavio couldn’t help but to reach out and take him by the elbow to pull him closer to him. Now that he had someone else to protect, he didn’t feel nearly as nervous. Oh, he was still skittish as heck, but his nervousness had turned into protective caution.

He also realised that, if he was lucky, someone from the Guardians would also arrive at that bar. Like a certain protective redhead for example.

“Are you all right?” Flavio asked instead of murmuring a greeting.

Lynus winced and flushed at the same time. “Oh, yes. Um…did you happen to see that?”

Flavio nodded his head as he tugged Lynus toward the bar, to which they subconsciously huddled against. “I did. Do you know him?”

“No, I don’t,” Lynus answered and chewed nervously on his bottom lip. “He…has a rather menacing presence to him. You don’t know of him either?”

Flavio shook his head. “Don’t recognise him at all.”

Lynus suddenly tilted his head to the side and frowned slightly. “You’re extremely nervous, too,” he pointed out.

Guess there was no hiding that. Especially not from a medic like Lynus.

“He’s…also been staring at me ever since I got here,” Flavio confessed.

An expression of pure concern immediately spread across Lynus’ features. He also looked subtly frightened as his violet eyes glanced in that man’s direction once more. He hand grasped onto the strap of his bag even tighter as he tore his gaze from the staring guy to instead glance around at the other patrons at the bar.

Unexpectedly, he closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them with a soft sigh of relief. He turned his attention back to Flavio and smiled softly at him.

“It’ll be all right,” he said in a surprisingly calm way, completely at odds to what he looked like just seconds ago.

Before Flavio could ask what he meant he was interrupted by a loud laugh. It didn’t come from inside the bar, rather outside. But it was loud. And it was familiar.

From the other side of the bar, a set of doors that had been previous closed were suddenly flung open. Almost in the fashion of someone kicking them open in frustration. And from those doors appeared two tall figures. Two explorers that look intimidating by appearance, especially if one didn’t know them personally.

It was Axel and Zeryn.

And that was when Flavio understood what Lynus had meant. And he felt a wave of relief wash over him two.

“The raptors are running away from you. Away. Not towards. Away. Doesn’t that say something?” Axel practically seethed. Even from this distance, Flavio could see him bristling.

Zeryn released another loud, boisterous laugh. “Aye, they run away from yer, too!”

Axel dragged a weary and frustrated hand over his face. “Only because they associate me with you. After all I’m the sucker that has to chase after you two flaming fuckwits!”

“Now, Reddie,” Zeryn crooned as he patted Axel roughly on the back, earning a irritated eye-twitch from him. “I can’t take all the credit!”

…Hm. It sounded as though Zeryn and Simmons had another Raptor race in the labyrinth.

Flavio wasn’t entirely sure how Lynus knew they were coming, but he was glad for their presences anyway.

“Axel, over here!” Lynus called out as he waved to the two.

Axel snapped his head up to look over at him. And immediately made a beeline towards them, Zeryn on his heels, still grinning like an idiot, as they say.

As they approached, Flavio flickered his gaze back towards the creepily-staring-guy to find him doing just that. Staring. Creepily at that.

Hmmm…he mustn’t be a local then?

“Save me from this idiot,” Axel murmured as he practically smothered Lynus in his arms the second he was close enough.

Lynus chuckled softly as he nuzzled his head under Axel’s chin in a soothing way.

He, however, paused abruptly and pressed his lips together as he contemplated something. A polite smile soon appeared and he directed his attention to his guild's highlander.

"Zeryn? When I was stepping into the bar just minutes ago, I overheard something from that dark haired man, the one sat near the doors over there," he said as he pointed at the man that had being causing both of Flavio's and Lynus' nervousness. "Something about being bored and looking for a challenger to face him in battle."

A wild, almost feral grin appeared on Zeryn's lips. "Aye?"

Flavio immediately understood what Lynus was trying to do. So he leaned casually against the bar and glanced in the direction of the man that wasn’t as nerve-wracking as he had previously been.

"I can't be sure, of course," Lynus replied with an apologetic look. "Maybe you can ask him?"

“I’m pretty sure I overheard him saying something like that, too,” Flavio added casually as he turned to look at Zeryn. “Something about not having the right kind of challenging rival? I can’t be too sure. Totally need to ask him.”

"Aye, Lads, I'll take yer words for it," Zeryn said simply as he spun on his heel and made a beeline for that staring stalker. "I heard yer looking for a fight, laddie?" he actually bellowed from clear across the bar.

The bar seemed to fall silent as the man in question glanced over in Zeryn's direction. He, however, suddenly sat up straight in his chair, an expression of sheer nervousness on his face when he realised that Zeryn was directing that question towards him. His mouth fell open in a fish out of water expression.

"A-ah, no?" he muttered as he hastily took to his feet.

"No backing out of a challenge now," Zeryn continued as he closed the distance between them rapidly.

The guy saw that he was approaching fast. So with a speed that was honestly quite impressive, he dove for the door, the chair he had once been sat on confidently falling to the floor with a loud crash.

Zeryn, however, laughed boisterously and followed the guy outside immediately. "Dun worry, I enjoy the thrill of the hunt too!"

With that, the two were gone.

The bar remained silent for a few seconds longer before the patrons turned back to their companions and previous conversations.

Flavio was relieved. And honestly amused. He had hoped that maybe Axel would put the fear of god into the guy by telling him to get lost. But Axel didn't need to, it seemed. Axel broke up bar fights. Zeryn participated in them. Zeryn was just as equipped to deal with potential stalkers and harassers as Axel was. The only difference was that Zeryn enjoyed it.

So, yeah, let the blond highlander have his fun.

"He wasn't looking for a fight, was he?" Axel asked with a half smirk.

Lynus shrugged as he turned pressed himself against Axel's chest. "He was, in a way. Just not someone like Zeryn for a target."

Axel rested his chin atop of Lynus’ hair as his eyes flickered toward the doors that both Zeryn and the creepy, staring guy disappeared through. “Did he do something?” he asked, protectively.

Lynus shared a glance with Flavio and held a finger to his smiling lips. Flavio nodded his head in return, also smiling.

Technically, the guy hadn’t done anything. But he did make them both feel uncomfortable. And he did stare rather menacingly at them. And that made them feel as if he wanted to do something.

But, really, in this town and in this bar, staring intently at someone was usually a prelude to a fight of some kind. Cass even kept a tally on how many bar-fights started with the question “what are you looking at?”. So he had to have been looking for a fight, right? They just gave him a different opponent.

Yeah, there was no need to worry about that guy anymore.

He probably shouldn’t tell Fafnir about the guy, though…


End file.
